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Ann Handley

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kids

A (Sort of) Sentimental Post That I Tried to Make Less So

Yesterday I sat in the stands at my son’s graduation, smack at what would be the face-off line of the covered ice hockey rink, counting the rows of chairs on the floor below and trying to work out which mortarboard was his in a royal blue sea of 440 graduates. All of us parents standing […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Children, Parenting, Teenagers Tagged With: graduation, high school, kids, Parenting, Teenagers

Parent Bingo

My 17-year-old will be in college next year, and right now he and I are deep in the process of applications and school visits and talks that spring up suddenly at dinner or in the car and begin with, “Maybe I should think about…?” or “Have you considered…?” It’s a process that feels very much […]

Filed Under: Children, Parenting, Teenagers, Writing Tagged With: kids, mothers, Parenting, Teenagers, Writing

Evergreen Christmas

Christmas ornaments

1970 It’s four days before Christmas, and my father finally retrieves from beneath the cellar stairs the huge Sears box that houses our Christmas tree. The tree is heavy, its metal trunk solid and plumed with thick branches trimmed with rough-cut green cellophane that simulates pine needles. It’s the only Christmas tree I’ve ever known, […]

Filed Under: Children, Family History Tagged With: 1970s, Christmas, Christmas ornaments, Christmas trees, daughters, Family History, kids, mothers, personal history, traditions

Innocents At Home

It snowed the other morning north of Boston. It was the first, early snowfall of the season, if you take a very literal view of the term “snowfall,” because the flurries that fell didn’t amount to any real accumulation. They stuck tentatively to the ground, in clusters, like they were as surprised to be landing […]

Filed Under: Media, Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Teenagers Tagged With: 1970s, Baby Boomers, daughters, kids, Millennial Generations, Millennials, snow day, social consciousness

Punked

fresh milk

When the flight attendant advises that passengers place the oxygen mask over their own faces before assisting those traveling with them, I always interpret this imperative more broadly—that I should take care of my own needs first, whether or not I’m strapped into an airplane seat, 30,000 feet in the air. Day to day, this […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Children, Family History, Humor, Parenting, Teenagers Tagged With: family, kids, milk, Parenting, personal history, practical jokes, punked, Teenagers

Birthday Boy

Thirteen years ago today, we threw a first birthday party for our blond, apple-cheeked boy. Three months later to the day, he would be dead, from a virulent and rare form of strep. One day he was sitting in my lap with a book, clapping his hands when we came to his favorite page. And […]

Filed Under: Annarchy, Children, Family History, Parenting, Writing Tagged With: kids, mothers, Parenting, personal history, Writing

Notice to Staff and Stakeholders: Reorg

coddled

Greetings all staff and stakeholders of Coddled Teenage Boy Enterprises: It has come to my attention that there has been some confusion about your roles and responsibilities within the organization, which has led to infighting, yelling, and name-calling—this happened just yesterday, prior to 7 AM. Such behavior is both unprofessional and upsetting, and it is […]

Filed Under: Children, Humor, Parenting, Teenagers Tagged With: Business, kids, mothers, parentings, sons, Teenagers

Morning Person

birds at sunrise

Like millions of people around the world who are following the Beijing Olympics, I’ve been watching a lot of TV this summer. Parked on my couch watching the events, it’s alternatively a new experience as well as a shot of nostalgia. Here, in 2008, I’m watching the summer games with my own kids. But I […]

Filed Under: Politics & Society, Pop Culture, Women Tagged With: kids, marine horn, Olympics, Parenting, sleep, summer

Looking for Eddie Field

I tolerate you

Eddie Field had ears that stuck out like mug handles from either side of his head and a face that was a constellation of freckles. He wore his hair in a Boy’s Regular barber cut, cropped close to his head, which only served to emphasize both the freckles and the unfortunate angle of his ears. […]

Filed Under: Children, Family History, Parenting, Teenagers Tagged With: Boston, children's games, Eddie Field, kids, memoir, Parenting, personal history, storytelling, summer

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