This is Thanksgiving.The 13-year-old walks around a huge buffet featuring a variety of food. Like most Thanksgiving spreads, there is an abundance of food with too many offerings. He’s first in line because he’s starving. He sits down with two pieces of ham, some broccoli, three rolls and an orange Gatorade. Though trying to sneak… Read more »

It was a super busy week at the paper on a short holiday week. Therefore, I am sharing an outstanding article a reader sent in response to last week’s column about my family’s adoption journey. The article, headlined ‘What The Books Didn’t Tell Us,’ was written by Matt Forck and available at adoptivefamilies.com.Many years ago,… Read more »

“I can’t believe your kids are adopted, you never write about it,” a reader recently said. She then inquired why I don’t share more about this fact. She thought being open about my family’s story more often might help others who do not have a smooth route to parenting.Pam and I are open about our… Read more »

What to do for a kid on his birthday when he loathes attention?This is the annual question with Carson, who turned 12 years old last Friday. A day off from school was a good place to start for the “baby” of the house, but Pam and I wanted to do something else for him. All… Read more »

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.I know I can be ridiculous at times. My wife Pam is also keenly aware of this fact. My kids are also catching on to my temporary bouts of lunacy.I call it “deadline brain” at times. The pressures and stress associated with multiple deadlines every day for going… Read more »

It’s school picture time, which is not exactly a favorite for the 13-year-old kid of the house.Expecting the worst, I have no doubt we will be disappointed when these photos arrive in a few weeks of at least one of the boys. Considering Beckett doesn’t like to show his teeth when he smiles now (despite… Read more »

It’s a bumpy ride parenting a young teen.Not everything I see and hear from my 13-year-old makes me proud, but that’s the case with most parents. There’s some days I remind myself how much I love him even when I don’t like him a ton for his words and actions.There is a lot to worry… Read more »

It was a weird week at home.Beckett, 13, left Monday for a three-day, two-night field trip at Echo Hill Outdoor School in Worton. He has been away from home before but what made this trip unique was the inability to communicate. There were no phones or electronics allowed. It was meant to be an exciting,… Read more »

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”It’s an approach I wholeheartedly embrace with my kids through daily life. If I micromanage every aspect of their lives, I may go crazy. Deep dives on every action I disapprove of, missed assignments, concerning observations or behavior choices is unhealthy. I find enough in life to fret over on a… Read more »

(Editor’s Note: The following column is a reprint from the summer of 2015.)Rainy weekend days test my parenting mettle.The saving grace for last Saturday — the first day of significant rainfall in a few weeks — was the morning was fine, and we were able to get out of the house early for a soccer… Read more »