I came across an article a while back that examined why kids in many Latin American countries are far more involved in housework than American kids are. It painted some lovely and idyllic images of kids cheerfully pitching in around the house – doing laundry, picking up, making dinner – without even being asked! The… Continue reading Letting Kids Help Is Hard Work
Month: March 2019
Kids Are the Best at Reunions
Last weekend, after many long months – nay, years! – my children were reunited with their grandparents. It had been decades since the young Snyders had last laid eyes upon the beloved patriarch and matriarch of our clan… …or at least you would certainly think so, based on their joy when my parents pulled into… Continue reading Kids Are the Best at Reunions
Just Choose Already
From what I have heard, some people walk into Lowe’s and have a near-religious experience, breathing deeply not only the smell of lumber but the smell of possibility. They see inspiration piled high to the ceiling on gleaming shelves. When I pass through the doors of a home improvement store, I tend to experience a… Continue reading Just Choose Already
Some Things Age Better Than Others
Some things get better with age. Like my hair, for example. There are parts of me that I’d trade with my sixteen-year-old self in a heartbeat but my hair isn’t one of them. It took the better part of three decades to sort itself out, but my hair and I are on excellent terms these… Continue reading Some Things Age Better Than Others
Fact: Everyone Should Be in Therapy
I have been meeting regularly with a therapist for nearly three years, ever since I placed a call in the early spring of 2016 to say “my marriage isn’t working and I don’t know what to do.” I share that fact because, if I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about our… Continue reading Fact: Everyone Should Be in Therapy