When it comes to teenage kids, the expression goes, “you don’t have to always like them, but you always love them.”The phrase hits home as the journey of raising a young teen plays out around our house.As a matter of disclosure, I both love and like my 13-year-old son Beckett. He’s wonderful and has many… Read more »

Pardon the proud parent moment, but I am incredibly impressed with Carson completing his school’s five-week summer academy.Back in the spring, we debated whether Carson would enroll until the last minute. When the deadline came, we decided to go ahead and sign him up. All the while Pam and I were of the mindset he… Read more »

It’s amazing to me what excites my kids and what doesn’t.I was thinking about this on the beach last weekend. We drove to Assateague, passing horses at every turn and some of the best vistas found anywhere. At one point, I had to insist Carson pull his head out of his book and Beckett put… Read more »

For several years, my kids were blessed to have many grandparents – seven to be exact.Due to our biological parents getting divorced while Pam and I were both young and remarrying, my kids had several years with many grandparents. It was a good thing. It also makes our family tree unique with many branches.With Pam’s… Read more »

It was shortly after midnight and Pam woke me up with suspicions Beckett was moving around the house.By the time I got out of bed, the silhouette of our 13-year-old and his puffy ball of hair (mostly in the front) was standing in our doorway, saying, “what? Everything okay?” We questioned him on what he… Read more »

Commiserating with parents of middle school-aged kids has become a guilty pleasure of mine.Therefore, a warning to those of you with kids in the early teen age range I’m looking to hear some thoughts, experiences, joys and horror stories.I have found myself seeking out parents to catch up on what’s going on in their world…. Read more »

There are things that occur in life we often describe as, “This is Autism.” The inexplainable situations that defy reason, but they are our reality.It may sound strange, but there are many positives that have come our family’s way because of Carson’s special needs. His greatest gift to us is perspective, as I often think… Read more »

“If there is hell, it was modeled after junior high school.”These are the words of comedian Lewis Black during a skit about the trials and tribulations of teens, puberty and school. Junior high school is now middle school. My son, Beckett, just completed his seventh-grade year at Worcester Prep.Unlike most, he was in-person all year…. Read more »

Yet.This is the uplifting message of hope in a book titled, “The Boy Who Couldn’t Speak, Yet,” written by Jordan Christian LeVan and illustrated by Isabella Millet.Several times over the years I have come into a room to find Pam on her phone listening to something in tears. When I get closer I hear a… Read more »

The thought of a “sleepover” makes me cringe.Having some buddies over for the night was one of Beckett’s wishes for his birthday earlier this month. Talks evolved from questions about how many kids he could have for a sleepover to whether we were going to make them go to sleep. We agreed three would be… Read more »