That's Entertainment?

Bryan was stunned. Shocked. Incredulous, even.

"I can’t believe it," he said. "I thought for sure you would have seen it by now."

"Well, I haven’t," I said. "Sorry."

"But this movie will be an Oscar-winner! Two thumbs way up!" “Uh-huh.” My indifference...

Dealing With Anger

I grew up in a family of boys. When something went wrong between us boys, someone got mad and someone got punched. Sometimes there was blood, sometimes not, but someone always prevailed. As the eldest son, I was used to prevailing (at least until my brother grew larger than me—then the fighting stopped, for some reason). Now that I was married to this beautiful Linda creature, I was about to learn better ways of dealing with anger than the way boys handle it.

Confessions of a Scrapbooking Skeptic

I've never really taken the time to become very involved in the recent scrapbooking craze. To tell the truth, I've had difficulty understanding the hype surrounding the hobby and why so many droves of women have recently felt they want to join it. For me, the prospect of sitting down with boxes of...

A Style of Our Very Own

Most mothers and teenage daughters face off over issues of parental guidance (a.k.a. control), makeup, boyfriend, mandatory family get-togethers, and even family meals. This can be the stuff of daily conflict. For me and my daughter, it has been over clothing. It seems that if something is not too...

Surviving Columbine

Minutes after my friend Jess and I started talking, we heard loud noises coming from outside the building. Many students ran to the windows to see what was going on, but thinking it was just construction, we continued our chat. Then the art teacher, Mrs. Nielson, ran into the library screaming, "Some kids have guns!"

The Powerful Effect of Words

During the past 30 years as a therapist I have consistently observed the powerful effect of words and phrases on the lives of children and parents. It has become clear that negative words and phrases damage lives, and positive ones lift and strengthen. In the early years of my practice, a mother...

Can Two Families Survive Under One Roof?

Two boats, a fish, an octopus, and a ladybug went for a swim--down my mother-in-law's toilet. They swirled, and my two-year-old nephew surely squealed, as he flushed and flushed, until the toilet would flush no more. Under normal circumstances, a stopped toilet is a major inconvenience. However,...

Don't Fall in Love with the Children

Thirty years later, an adopted son returns to his old Philippines orphanage to adopt a child of his own. A warm rush ran through James’ body as the taxi pulled up to the front doors of the Philippines orphanage where he’d spent his first eight months of life. An old black-and-white photograph...