Image credit: Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons "I hate that you don't have a blog," said a woman about to undergo heart surgery, as she gazed sincerely up at her boyfriend, "I hate that I don't know what you're thinking." Mark and I burst into raucous laughter and had [...]
Posts under ‘communication’
I Don’t Love You
Image credit: Photo by jessica.garro on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Most parents hear it at one time or another. Some variation on the universal theme of parent awfulness: "I hate you. I wish you were dead. I don't like you. I'm not going to be your child anymore. I want a new Mommy/Daddy. You're the [...]
How to Change Anyone!
I was browsing around Target the other day, when I came across the most fabulous book I have seen in a long, long time: How to Change Someone You Love: Four Steps to Help You Help Them. I laughed the kind of laugh that ought to have sent flocks of birds scattering in alarm. Instead [...]
How Austen Convinced Me Torture Doesn’t Work
Image credit: Photo by ...-Wink-... on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons "How did you know?" my son Austen asked. "Know what, buddy?" I asked. We had been talking about how a particular connector fit into a particular slot. This, along with batteries and speakers, is a particular fascination of Austen's lately. When we were watching [...]
Smooth as Silk
Image credit: Photo by Jesse Draper on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Silk is a sexy fabric. It's smooth and soft and falls in glistening ripples like waves. Years ago, shortly before I moved to another state to be with Mark, I sent him a pair of silk boxers as a gift, and he wrote [...]
Nightmares
Image credit: Photo by samzie2006 on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I woke up this morning, muscles clenched like a fist and throat tight with anxiety, wanting to grab my son and never let him go. I crept to where he was sleeping and ran my fingers through his curls, reassuring myself he was there [...]
World’s Most Codependent Home Videos
Image credit: Photo by Stephen Poff on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Somewhere, gathering dust on a dark, forgotten shelf in my house is a video that helped greatly in my recovery. It's not one that you can buy on Amazon.com and it's not one that will help any of you. It's a video of [...]
The Racial Issue
Image credit: Photo by GarySmith70 on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons "Mama, I'm half black, half white," Janie calls to me from where she's playing in the living room. I'd been wondering when this day would come, the day when my biracial daughter would finally notice race and start talking about herself in racial terms. [...]
It’s Not About Sex
Image credit: Photo by Leo Reynolds on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons With the story of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's week-long disappearance to visit his mistress in Argentina buzzing about, we're faced yet again with a barrage of images of a public figure tearfully apologizing for his infidelity, while his job hangs in jeopardy.* [...]
Recovery is Sexy
Image credit: Photo by Eternal ☼ Sunshine on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons It was raining the night I first kissed my husband. The wind was hissing and howling through the bare branches of the trees, rattling the last of the dead leaves still clinging to their posts. Before we kissed, we twined our hands [...]
