I scanned the mess in our living room…and couldn’t help but smile.

Two kids sat at one end of a card table. One child flopped turkey slices on bread while the other added cheese. A third child was loading baby carrots into sandwich bags at the other end of the table, while the toddler did what she did best: cheerfully pull things out of place and generally add to the chaos.

Then the assembly process began. As the stacks of food dwindled, the other card table for finished sack lunches grew.

The kids were proud as they cleaned up the mess and surveyed their donation.

We took the sack lunches to the shelter as a family. The kids smiled and waved at the people milling around the shelter. Although they were from a completely different walk of life, it didn’t seem to matter to our kids or the people who stopped to chat.

As we drove home that afternoon, everyone felt really good.

I wish I could say every experience volunteering with kids was like this.

In reality, it’s not.

If volunteering with kids seems hard to you, you’re not alone. [Read more…]

When my daughter started to struggle at school and I was trying to figure out what was going on, I was surprised to discover that learning disabilities in children are quite common.

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, one in five children has a learning or attention issue.

Many children with learning disabilities are highly intelligent, so their disability can be hidden– even to teachers. For me, it became evident when my daughter’s attitude about school totally changed.

“Mom, I don’t want to go!”

There I was again…irritated at the front door, while my daughter was sprawled out in the hallway having a meltdown about going to school. I was trying to come up with a magic phrase that would get her off the floor and out the door.

Reflecting back, I believe that her meltdowns were about failure at school. Why would she run gleefully out the door for a day full of disappointment? Why would she want to fail in front of her best friends at school–their perfect scores next to her failing one? [Read more…]

We have been living in this bizarre version of life for 10 months.

Ten months! Can you believe it? Ahh, that fateful day back in March…Who would have ever thought that life could change so drastically?

As a two-teacher household with three school-aged children, I remember how excited my kids (and if we’re being honest, my husband and I) were at the thought of a bonus two-week hiatus. Living in Maryland, we don’t get much of a spring break and had no snow days last year. I remember packing just a few things from my office (you know, just in case I wanted to get a little work done) and walking out the door with the assumption I’d be back in a couple weeks.

Oh, how naive we were! As we watched COVID blow up and everything shut down, reality sunk in that this was not going away any time soon, and as the infamous year of 2020 exited with the drop of the ball in a deserted NYC, we found ourselves in the same holding pattern as the previous ten months.

If your experience was anything like mine since March, it may have included a huge mix of emotions. Many of which were not pleasant. [Read more…]

Covid-19 has encouraged even those of us who are reluctant housekeepers to kick it up a notch. I am committed to cleaning hard surfaces, door knobs, and face-masks. I have been hustling to keep the household respectable and scrubbing my hands like a surgeon.

There are only a few things in the living room that appear to have gotten grubbier as of late; those things are my kiddos. In reverse correlation to the alcohol-wiped kitchen, the kids are greasier than ever.

PJ day every day. No need to shower for virtual school. No grandma visits that would require putting on a collared shirt. There is little urgency for real clothes, combed hair, or fresh socks.

The children lack ambition to take care of their personal hygiene and I can’t say they are alone. These are weird times. Their dad’s beard can only be described as big. I’ve been wearing fewer outfits than a Frenchwoman, with none of the signature style. Collectively, we are not at our best.

I can see from my front window that many families are finding themselves in a similar situation. The pre-K kids in the neighborhood seem to be syrup stained and dusty. The teenage boys are most definitely not changing their hoodies. The newborns are still adorable, but the doting stroller pushers look extra disheveled.

This window-gazing research has highlighted the fact that most families are exhibiting physical clues that they may be struggling with the lack of routine.

We are in this together, people!

Let’s get back on track. Time to find some simple solutions for consistent personal care habits. [Read more…]