This post was written in partnership with the Center for Parent and Teen Communication. All opinions are my own. When you have a baby, advice is not hard to find. Magazines, parenting blogs, websites and books are filled with all the information a clueless new parent could possibly need to know — and well-meaning […]

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March 1, 2021

Finally! Practical Advice for Parenting Teens!

First, there was ice. It poured from the sky, covering the streets of Nashville on Valentine’s Day evening. In ordinary times, this would have caused a whole lot of chaos and grumbling across the city about ruined date nights and cancelled reservations. But these are not ordinary times. Since there’s nothing romantic about dinner for […]

Deep Thoughts, Family, Fun

February 24, 2021

We’ve Changed, and Our Snow Week Proved It

It’s my last visit to my parents’ home before they move and as usual, I’m staying in the rooms my grandmother occupied for a decade before her death in 2015. I was very close with my grandmother growing up and being among her things during our visits has definitely helped me say goodbye to her […]

Deep Thoughts, Fun

February 7, 2021

One Last Goodbye

My Grandmother

Nothing sets the tone for a Broadway musical like a captivating opening number. And if the same holds true for beach towns, then Jekyll Island may very well be the Hamilton of them all. Maybe that’s a strange analogy, but it’s exactly what comes to mind when I think about seeing Jekyll Island for the […]

Travel, United States

February 2, 2021

Your Complete Guide to an Amazing Jekyll Island Vacation

St. Andrews Beach

You might assume that because of Pandemic Times, I no longer have any interesting adventures to report — and you would be right, barring That Time I Took a Walk and Saw a Really Big Turtle in the Pond. (Expect my memoir with that title from Doubleday in Spring 2022.) However, a couple of nights […]

Fun, Humor

January 26, 2021

I Took a Picture with a Polar Bear. Learn From My Mistake.

When it comes to bad bosses, she was one of the worst — the kind who had no personal life outside the newsroom she managed. We joked that she slept in her office and never actually went home, and honestly, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine her emerging from beneath her desk each morning, straightening […]

Deep Thoughts, Fun

January 22, 2021

We Had a Bad Boss

Crying Woman

Truth be told, I’d rather close the book on 2020 and never, ever look back. But this blog is a record of my life, after all, and when historians carefully pore over these entries centuries from now for insight into how suburban white women lived during the (guessing here) Doucebaggian Period of American History, I’m […]

Deep Thoughts, Family, Fun

January 8, 2021

What I Learned From 2020

Masks 2020

Well, hello! I’m sorry to be AWOL for so long, but 2020, man. It’s been such a kick in the gut… and while I thought it would at least give me plenty to write about, it turned out EVERYONE felt the same way and with so many opinions and arguments and noise spilling out of […]

Books, Fun

December 31, 2020

My Top 10 16 Books of 2020

Books

My Facebook feed is overflowing right now with adorably filtered pictures of your kids’ first days of school-at-home. You’re all so sweetly optimistic; it truly warms my heart. You’ve repurposed your breakfast nook into a cozy learning haven! You’ve decorated your walls with maps and alphabet letters! You’ve replaced the stacks of magazines, old mail, […]

Fun, Humor

August 17, 2020

This is the Hard Truth About Homeschooling

Dear Parents, As you may have heard, our school board unanimously decided during last night’s Zoom meeting to hold in-person classes at all of our district’s schools, starting August 10th. Although some parents have expressed concern about sending their children back to school in the midst of an out-of-control pandemic, we have come to the […]

Deep Thoughts, Fun, Humor

August 4, 2020

The Back-to-School Memo That Should Have Been Sent to Parents This Year

Students Going Back to School