FamilyEducation Blogs

I've been putting off scheduling an appointment for some time now. It's been in the back of my mind, but I keep pushing it aside, putting it off. It's not an appointment for me, but for my daughter--a follow-up appointment with her surgeons for the major cranio-facial surgery she had when she was six months old. Time has been marked by appointments with these doctors; at first it was an appointment every two weeks, then every three months, then every six months, then once a year. [more]

Father's Day last year found me driving to a grocery store to buy a phone card, which I then used--unsuccessfully, actually--to reach my dad, who was in Greece. I felt sad and down about it all day long. My grandmother had passed away only a few days before Father's Day, and it was hard to be disconnected from my family at that time. My father has always been that rock of safety for me, the fixer of all things, and surrounded by that empty feeling of loss over my grandmother's death, I just wanted to hear his voice, plain and simple. [more]

One year ago today, L. swam by himself at the pool for the very first time. He was almost seven and had been holding back for over three years—afraid, but also ashamed of his own fear. The water always tormented him, as did the kids—unintentionally—as they danced and played in the deep end, striking out across clear water, or diving below to retrieve coins and sharks and plastic torpedoes. But last year, on June 4, L. swam. As I watched from the pool's edge, it was unmistakably clear to everyone that his feet had indeed left the bottom of the pool. [more]

L.'s last day of second grade is today. They've had "last days" all week, really. Monday was a holiday, and then Tuesday was "game day" and the kids got to sit around most of the day and play their favorite games with each other. I was especially jealous of "bring a book and read" day on Wednesday. I had just gone to the library and checked out some good books for myself to read for a change, and the thought of being given a whole entire school day to lounge around in my pajamas with a pillow and some good books made me drool. L. [more]

I don't know how it is with your children, but I've noticed that my kids often behave in unpredictable Jekyll and Hyde ways when in public. One day they will be as good as can be, causing heads to turn, and strangers to comment in pleased tones about how well-behaved and sweet they are; then the next day heads turn in altogether different ways, and everyone gives you a wide berth, hoping against hope that whatever is wrong with YOUR kids that day won't rub off on theirs. [more]