My social feeds are circulating a David Brooks column: “Students Learn From People They Love.” The piece cites research from cognitive scientists about how integrated emotions are with learning. The many comments on the NYTimes site wonder whether Brooks would have more accurately said “respect” rather than “love.” Probably, yes, but my read is that […]
New Year’s Aspiration
Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, here’s my New Year’s Aspiration: People, let’s do the best with what we have in 2019!
Life Among the Savages
In her memoir of young family life, Life Among the Savages, Shirley Jackson tells the story of the outsize influence of a child’s first grade teacher. We get a delicious profile of her daughter Jannie’s Mrs. Skinner: We had been exposed to Mrs. Skinner from about the third day of school, when Jannie came home […]
Junk Food Firmament
This is a “guest post” from my Exemplary Girlfriend. The story is mildly adapted—and disguised—from an email she sent me a few years ago describing a trip to an amusement park with her two sons. She said I could share. I think you will see why we are friends. Some days I wonder whether my […]
Joe the Curmudgeon
Joe Queenan is a crowd-pleaser at my house. When The Sons are home, and we are lingering after a long breakfast served at 1:00 p.m., Queenan’s Wall Street Journal column is good for a laugh. He’s a curmudgeon, especially about things modern. “Uriah the Hittite” is a family meme: [A] couple of years ago, when […]
Classic Blunders
This post has the potential to insult multiple family members, but here goes. Our older son got my full dose of rage about young love. His first girlfriend lived a 30-minute drive from our house. He was 15, so I logged a lot of driving time with them. One time I was especially ticked with […]
You Can’t Go Home Again
“I know they say you can’t go home again.” That is true figuratively but not literally. I did “go home again” this summer to visit my parents. I slept in my childhood bedroom. I took the photo above, of the birdhouse light switch cover. That little birdie did not fly out of the nest. He […]
I Pitch
Some negotiations are complicated dances. Others can be stripped down. If I am in the dance setting, I try to put my Getting To Yes skills to work. I know I am supposed to identify the underlying issues for both sides and keep an open mind about the resolution. But sometimes, dammit, there is something […]
Mommiavelli
Overheard in my house this summer: Moi: Honey, why don’t you make chili tonight? DH: OK! Moi: But not too much, OK? Don’t make a full two gallon pot. We will just have to throw it out. DH: Moi: Please do not make too much. DH: Moi: There better be at least 2 inches of […]