Although my parents were never one bit funny, it somehow ended up that my siblings and I are all pretty darned hilarious ... or in our case Hi-Larry-us, as the oldest of my trio of younger brothers is the funniest of the bunch and happens to be named Larry.

Luckily for our folks, none of us figured out how completely we cracked them up until we reached the stage that they no longer had to force themselves into straight faces to dole out discipline. Nope. We had no clue that there was a lot of fine-line-walking between... more

There's been some follow up to a story I posted about last month on eighty-something grandparents losing custody of their grandson to foster care.

The grandparents, Morris (88) and Mildred (85) Brasovankin, are fighting to bring their hyperactive grandson home, and the question they are facing from all quarters is, of course: How old... more

I wrote a Love Thursday blog last year called "Hangin' with my best friend" that feartured a shot of Mark and I deep in conversation in a hammock and talked about the ties that bind us ... strong and resilient ties ... that keep us functioning as parents smoothly and with very little friction, and continue to provide a rich environment for ever-growing love.

I could not be more pleased to know that Sam and Cj... more

When Mark and I began our first adoption journey, like many people new to the concept I had the idea that it was girls that were most likely to be needing homes and families.

The UK's Channel 4 production, "The Dying Rooms" swept the world, and the terrifying view into the world of unwanted little girls in China convinced many that boys had it easier and were far less likely to be in orphanages.

For many reasons ...... more

Here's a question for Boomers to think about, especially those of us with small children:

How much of a commitment are you willing and able to make to help your aging parents?

Or to put it more bluntly:

How much of your lifestyle do you potentially give up so your mom and dad can lead the kind of life you ... or they ... think they should lead?

These are being asked in USA Today, and should... more

I don't lie, and unless you're the same you have no idea how much trouble that sometimes causes me. I won't tell people they look great in canary yellow bicycle shorts unless I truly think they do, and I won't yum, yum away over a dish I can't swallow. If I'm angry, people know it. If I'm happy, there's no doubt.

And that's the part I like about complete, unadulterated honesty ... the part where there's no doubt, the part where honesty becomes trust.

In recent efforts to get Cj ... more

Although there are many aspects of mothering that vary widely from place to place and from time to time, I would guess there are at least as many more that are as common to moms ... older, younger, richer, poorer, here or there or everywhere ... as the rhythm of breath going in, then out, and repeating round the clock for as long as it can.

The sudden acceptance of poop as an obvious factor in our lives,... more

When my husband, Mark, was a child, his father was in the British army. The family was often separated, with Dad spending months at a time away from their home near whichever base in England or Ireland they had been pointed toward while he served in Malaysia, British Guyana, Germany and Northern Ireland.

For most of Mark's early years, paternal companionship came in short spurts followed by long periods where it was Mom or no one. When Mark was nine-years-old, John, my father-in-law, retired from the army... more

I love my life! It's rich in everything that matters and provides more that I ever expected in love and comfort and security and communication and many other things I am now so used to having that I forget that I lived without them.

My husband is my best friend and the person I would always choose first to spend time with. Sam and Cj are gifts beyond belief, smart and loving, sweet and healthy, and there are times when I almost have to pinch myself to grasp the fact that I am, indeed, their mom.

I have wonderful, interesting,... more

As I mentioned briefly, the 29th of May brought the debut of my assistant, Catherina''s baby. (I'd give the link for my short announcement, but apparently it was so short that there's no way I can call the story up to get a link. Strange ... )

Holly, for one, has been patiently awaiting details, so here are some:

The little... more