Parenting Archives - Page 4 of 16 - Sleeping on the Edge

Swinging For the Fences

He pulled on his slightly-too-small helmet, wincing as he tugged it over his ears. We had been saying for weeks that he needed a new one – he was still using the same helmet he got when he started playing baseball three years ago – but life got in the way and we hadn’t been able to make it happen. I helped him slip on the batting gloves, holding the faded white fabric steady so he could push his hands in. He stretched and wiggled his fingers, adjusting for comfort, and held his hand out for me to tighten the Velcro base. He hoisted his bat out of his bag as we went over the details of his stance one last time. I gave him a smile and a few good-natured knocks on his helmet before he made the short walk to the batters box. He set his feet, bent his knees and lifted the bat behind him, elbow pointing directly back toward the umpire, just as we had discussed.

Three pitches went by and he made the same short walk back to the dugout.

His name wasn’t Casey and we weren’t in Mudville.

E had struck out. Continue reading “Swinging For the Fences”

The Magic of Reading Together

I came in and out of the living room a few times during the movie and, each time, he was in a different position. He was sitting, leaning back on the soft couch cushions; then he was lying down on his side, his legs splayed without any regard for his grandfather who was seated next to him; then he was on the floor, his posture straight enough to make an opera singer proud. His eyes were glued to the screen, rapt attention replacing the blank zombie stare that he usually wore when he watched television. A number of short gasps escaped his lips as he watched, usually accompanied by a smile and the occasional exclamation of, “Oh, I know what’s about to happen!” He asked me a couple of questions about the plot during the early parts but gave up when he realized I was just going to keep telling him to wait and see.

I wasn’t going to spoil his first time watching Harry Potter. Continue reading “The Magic of Reading Together”

Out of the Mouths of Babes (or, My Struggle With Self-Induced Nausea)

I had just pushed the cart carrying my laundry baskets through the front door when it happened. My brain had been juggling the residual thoughts of my two private practice appointments from earlier in the evening, chores that needed completing and, of course, writing ideas. Somehow I suddenly thought of the question a friend had asked me over the weekend during a conversation about college studies.

“So, do you have a favorite philosopher?” he had inquired, referring to my major. Continue reading “Out of the Mouths of Babes (or, My Struggle With Self-Induced Nausea)”

After the Warranty Runs Out

He moved slowly, carefully placing each step as he made his way down the street. He was hunched forward, his arms leaning heavily on his walker, which creaked slightly as he pushed it along. His hairline had receded almost entirely to the back of his head; he had traded a youthful coif for over a half-century of professional experience. He had once stood a solid six feet tall, brimming with confidence and proud of his status in the community, but his reliance on the silver and grey support had cut him down a few pegs in each area.

He paused at a driveway that led to a large house and surveyed his surroundings. He searched in vain for a landmark or an address that he recognized. There had been a time when he could have navigated the suburban neighborhood practically with his eyes closed but lately he had been finding it more challenging to get from once place to another. He hated calling for taxis and relying on his younger neighbors to drive him; plus, he enjoyed walking. He enjoyed the feeling of independence that came with mobility but the emotion had become all too elusive in recent years. And now, after one last determined effort to reclaim that self-sufficiency, he had gotten himself lost. The pursuit of accomplishment had left him feeling confused and alone. Continue reading “After the Warranty Runs Out”

Boys Just Need to Have Fun

He crouched slightly, a few feet away from third base, hands on his knees in his “ready position,” and waited.

The ground balls came to him faster than he was accustomed, which was to be expected coming off the bat of a coach instead of other seven-year-olds. He fielded each one cleanly, though, getting his glove down to the ground and squeezing the ball as it hit the webbing. He popped up quickly after each catch and fired as hard as he could across the field to throw out the imaginary runners at first.

Not one throw reached on the fly. Continue reading “Boys Just Need to Have Fun”

The Missing Piece From the Abortion Debate

This post was born out of a conversation with my wife shortly after laws designed to limit access to abortion were passed in Georgia, Alabama and other states. I had been trying to figure out how to write about the topic without simply writing a straightforward pro or con stance. T’s description of her reactions to the political rhetoric surrounding abortion helped me realize my own frustrations with the conversations I was hearing. Given the extremely controversial nature of this topic, I want to make clear that this piece is intended to add to the discussion, rather than present a judgment about women’s rights regarding abortion.

It was about ten years ago that I visited the Bodies exhibit in lower Manhattan with my wife and my parents.

The exhibit – which is now in Las Vegas and Atlanta – was the most in-depth human anatomy lesson I had ever seen. There were over two hundred bodies, both male and female, set up in a variety of positions so that attendees could see how human skeletons, muscles and organs connect to each other and how they work together to keep us alive. I remember being struck by the intricacies of the different systems and how a problem in one area would affect other body parts as well. In all, the space was filled with sights that non-medical students and professionals would never be exposed to otherwise. Continue reading “The Missing Piece From the Abortion Debate”

Supporting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals With General Mills and Costco

This post is sponsored by General Mills but, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s now been almost a full month since my daughter, S, had her surgery to repair an epigastric hernia.

The Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center staff thought of everything. The nurses reminded us not to eat or drink in the pre-op waiting room because the patients there aren’t allowed to either. The child life specialist made sure that S had Play-Doh, stuffed animals, cars and as many other toys as they could provide in order to make sure S stayed in a good mood. The child life team sat with her while the doctor and anesthesiologist spoke with us and walked us through the entire procedure. The anesthesiologist offered to place a flavored scent into the anesthesia to make it more tolerable for S to breathe in (she chose strawberry). S was also given the option to look at pictures of the operating room before going in to help the environment feel more familiar once she got inside. She was pushed into the OR in style, riding in a Step2 play push-car and beeping the horn the entire way. My wife also told me that she was able to hold S on her lap while they administered the anesthesia, which I thought was unbelievable. Continue reading “Supporting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals With General Mills and Costco”

Keeping Our Kids Safe Online With Bark

I recently became an ambassador for Bark, an app that helps parents monitor their children’s online activity. You can find my discount code here and at the bottom of the post. Still, as always, all opinions here are my own.

I began working with Kayla¹ and her family when she was fourteen years old.

She was a lovely young woman. She had a sharp sense of humor, knew how to take constructive criticism (from me, at least) and was self-aware enough to offer her own insights about the sources of her depressive symptoms. She was open about her relationships, both social and romantic, and seemed to genuinely enjoy asking my opinions about the choices she faced on a daily basis. She didn’t always take my advice – what teenager would? – but she always listened. Continue reading “Keeping Our Kids Safe Online With Bark”

The Wonders of Science (or, How to Gross Out Your Child With Education)

When I was eight or nine years old, I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up.

Someone gave me a scientific microscope for my birthday around that time, which was probably one reason why. I would use the tweezers to pull out a hair from my head or tear off tiny pieces of leaves, put them on the slides and examine them. I’d fiddle with the covers for the slides as I tried to figure out how the professionals were able to flatten out a piece of twig between two small pieces of glass or plastic, often breaking the slide covers in the process. I’d play around with the focus and the zoom lenses and pretend I was doing experiments even though, in my head, I was wondering why it mattered what a leaf looked like when it was magnified at 16x. Continue reading “The Wonders of Science (or, How to Gross Out Your Child With Education)”

Category: Parenting