I’m about to be the mother of a teenager. A little event we’re having for the occasion on Saturday means I’m going to be too busy actually parenting to be writing about parenting for the next couple of days. Hope you understand.
My family and I had the joy last weekend of going to PAX East, the giant convention of all things gaming and geeky. Here are some things we saw and a few games to recommend.
I was among the first generation of kids to see the original Star Wars movie in 1977. I was 10 then, and when the third installment rolled around six years later, I was waiting in line for hours with friends at the local theater on opening day. I’ll be seeing The Force Awakens with my own son this week, and have been reflecting on some of the lessons I’ve learned from the series and what it has meant to me.
Today is National Coming Out Day, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on coming out as a lesbian mom, along with a few resources for both parents and kids. I posted a version of this a couple of years ago, but I hope it bears repeating.
Back-to-school time always raises mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, years of being in academia make me see September, not January, as the start of the year (or maybe it’s just a Jewish thing). On the other, the lazy days of summer are giving way to school time’s hectic rush, with my son’s after-school activities, homework reminders, and the various other events and paperwork that public education brings in its wake.
Pride is a funny concept, with both positive and negative connotations. It goeth before a fall. It makes a combustible pairing with prejudice. The Marines, though few, lay claim to it. Pride can be overweening. It can blind us to the needs of others. But it can also remind us of what is important in life: our children, our families, our identities.
I’ve been lighting the Hanukkah candles with my 11-year-old son this week and thinking about how we all could use a little light right now.
A few weeks ago I posted about the new rules for Dungeons & Dragons that are explicitly inclusive of characters with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. I also promised to tell a personal story about an encounter with the people at Wizards of the Coast, the makers of D&D. Here it is.
My son finished elementary school this month, and while he seems to be approaching the idea of middle school with aplomb (or at least with the casual coolness of which 11-year-olds seem capable), I’m having a bad case of nostalgia right now. We’re at a family milestone, but I remind myself that such milestones are only the most prominent markers along a path full of signs and wonders.
When I spoke at HuffPo Live last week, the interviewer asked what our son did for us on Mother’s Day. What he does is only part of our family celebration, however. Here’s what our whole day looked like this year.
