Laura

My stepson was only 5 years old when his father and I began dating. Now 21, he swears he doesn’t remember a time before I was in his life; I like to say the same back to him. But entering the military was never in my plan for him; I envisioned four years of college, a full-time job not too far away and, eventually, a wedding and couple of kids in a house with a white picket fence. But just as life doesn’t always go the way we anticipate for ourselves, the same is also true for our kids. His path, instead, has taken him to 12 weeks of boot camp in San Diego this summer. And after that? God only knows.

So then how in the world, when I’m racing around town trying to get Daughter A and Daughter B from Point A to Point B on time, are we going to find time to eat a frickin’ meal? Are we doomed to a solid month of Happy Meals and drive-thru dinners?

The mornings that trip me up are when an otherwise-healthy daughter sits picking at her breakfast and complaining that her belly “just started hurting.” Is it stomach flu? Stress? An overwhelming desire to snuggle in pajamas and watch “My Little Pony”??

But as I look to my calendar and see that my girls will be in class through the second week of June, I sigh and wonder … what is the ideal calendar for the school year anyway?

I’m lucky to be able to drive my kids to school in a district that doesn’t require metal detectors at the entrances. As there are families in this city who live in their vehicles, we should be so grateful as to use our cars just as cars – not as temporary housing. But do you know what would help ease the traffic burden at schools? Fewer vehicles! Make friends with your neighbors who also have kids at your school and share the driving; it’s made all the difference for my neighborhood. And my sanity.

When it comes to new house envy, I am the guiltiest. But it turns out the easiest way to stop comparing my house to those I see on TV … is to shut off the TV.

While my darling daughter has many positive qualities, keeping track of her belongings isn’t necessarily one of them. A few weeks had gone by, she was way behind on her reading … and her book was suddenly missing.

Finding joy is about understanding that there is always a silver lining, even when we cannot see one.

Love it or hate it, colder weather is coming and bringing with it the usual assortment of dry skin, chapped lips and hair that stands on end with static. But take heart! There are many perks (I've identified the following nine) to living in the Frozen Tundra that the rest of the world is missing. Guaranteed they don’t know the joy of owning a fur-lined, heated ice scraper...

When you add up all the appetizers, turkey and trimmings, drinks and desserts, the average American could be packing in up to 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day. No wonder we feel stuffed!