Last week, two boxes arrived for my children from Amazon. A dear friend of mine emailed me and told me she had sent them each a book. And she was wise enough to know that opening the box is part of the delight. So she sent two separate boxes. I brought them in from the front porch and they squealed with delight. My six year old son, the gentle Pleaser starts saying, “Oh, I hope it’s not clothes. I mean, if it is, that’s okay, but I hope it’s something really good. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s… Continue

Anyone who has known me for a time knows one definite thing about me. I hate to be startled. It is not funny to leap out from behind a door and scream at me. It is not high comedy to drop a loud cup on the kitchen floor as I’m standing there. I hate when you’re all charged up with static electricity and you poke me and giggle. Chances are, I will instinctively hit you. Hard. It’s not a choice I make, just something my body does in response. I can’t control it, so it’s best not to risk… Continue

Kids go through phases. Thanks God they are “phases” since that word implies there will be an end eventually. We are currently in Round Two of my six year old son in Melt Down Phase. He’s a little guy but he has some big feelings and when he feels they are stepped on, we hear about it. Right now, if you look at that kid the wrong way, we hear a lot of phrases like, “You don’t understand! I wanted that spoon! It’s my favorite spoon and I never get to use it because Ruby always has it (sob sob)… Continue