Where Did You Come From?

E somehow ended up in our bed last night.

The “somehow” seems confusing, I know. E is a toddler, almost 20 months old, so we assume that he didn’t make it out of the crib on his own. His upper body strength is actually pretty impressive, as I’ve seen him basically do pull-ups on his bookshelf and hoist his body up over the railing on his crib.1 That being said, it’s hard for me to picture him getting over the railing while still holding on so that he could drop down to the floor and land on his feet without hurting himself.  Continue reading “Where Did You Come From?”

“Don’t Cry, It’s Only a Joke.”

I see a lot of different things when I’m working.

I have three separate jobs, so this is to be expected. I work full-time as a social worker, providing case management and counseling services to families who have children with mental health and behavior problems. I also have two part-time jobs at my local synagogue, teaching religious school classes to middle school students and leading junior congregation services a few times each month.  Continue reading ““Don’t Cry, It’s Only a Joke.””

Miracle of Miracles

I don’t remember my family hosting a lot of big parties when I was young. We had family parties here and there through the years and we hosted a couple of birthday parties for my brothers and for me, but we didn’t have many huge gatherings at our house. The biggest gathering I remember was for my brother’s brit milah1 just after he was born. When I was in middle and high school, my family joined with a group of other families from our synagogue and we started a rotation of holiday parties and other Jewish activities, but we only hosted a few of them. My wife’s family, on the other hand, went all out for everything. They would have between 20 and 30 people at their house for every holiday and would make enough food for twice that many.2 I’m not saying her family did holidays better than mine, just that we had different experiences growing up. And I like to think that now that we’re married and have started our own family, we’ve done a pretty good job of combining traditions from each of our experiences.  Continue reading “Miracle of Miracles”

Looking For The Right Words

Note: This post includes some derogatory language that some people might find offensive. I explain why I chose to use it again later in the post, but I’ll say it here, as well. I used these words as part of a broader analysis of language and its relationship to race and I thought that not spelling them out in full would distract from the message of the post. I apologize in advance if anyone is offended by my use of the words as they are. Please feel free to comment in the space below, to write to me using the contact form here or email me at sleepingonedge@gmail.com. Thanks again for reading.
I take language seriously.

I take pride in the fact that I use correct grammar and that I make spelling mistakes less often than the Cubs win the World Series.1 I still approach the quality of my writing with the same focus and intent to produce a polished product, even though this is a blog, as opposed to a research paper or journal article. You’re taking the time to read my work; the least I can do is give you something thoughtful and well-written to occupy your time.  Continue reading “Looking For The Right Words”

Strep Throat Can Be Good For You

I’ve written a number of times about my admiration for the work my wife puts into being a parent. She’s home with E every day, feeding him, playing with him, cleaning him up, cleaning up after him, making sure he doesn’t set the apartment on fire1 and everything else a mom needs to do. She does an amazing job, even when she’s not feeling her best.

Which brings me to last week.

You might have noticed that’s it’s been about two weeks since I published my last post. The first week was just really busy with work, as I had to prepare a presentation for the entire department, in addition to my usual responsibilities of home visits and other paperwork.  Last week was a little different, though. T wasn’t feeling well on Monday evening and woke up Tuesday morning with a fever above 103, so I took a personal day to look after E and let her recover a bit.  Continue reading “Strep Throat Can Be Good For You”

Parenting TRUM

This post is going to look a bit different. I think it’s still worth reading (I did write it, after all), but I’m just giving you a heads up.

No, the title is not a typo; I did not forget the “p” at the end. TRUM is an acronym that stands for “Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings.” Matthew Berry is a senior fantasy sports analysts at ESPN and TRUM is an acronym he created to structure some of his columns when he has a bunch of things to write about but none big enough to fill up their own column. I’ve been compiling a number of these types of notes myself, so I figured I’d do a blog post TRUM-style.  Continue reading “Parenting TRUM”

School Is Back In Session

I’ve always been a big fan of summer.

This is not a shocking revelation, I’m sure; lots of people love summer. Summer is all about freedom. Fewer rules, fewer schedules, fewer responsibilities. School is out; camp and vacations are in. You’ve heard of casual Fridays? My wife’s job had casual summers. And even though I work full time as a social worker, summers are a bit easier for me because it’s a lot easier to schedule home visits with families when their kids are out of school.  Continue reading “School Is Back In Session”

Testing the Limits

“He looks so serious,” my wife said.
I answered, “That’s because he knows he’s in trouble.”

E was sitting three feet away and looking back at me expectantly. T had just spoken very sternly to E and he was looking to me for support. E doesn’t get yelled at often1 but if either of us raise our voices, it’s probably because E has climbed into his toy box or onto the recliner or, as he did a couple of nights ago, onto the ottoman where he sits and moves it back and forth like a teeter-totter. And, while this instance had nothing to do with his safety, a lesson still needed to be taught.  Continue reading “Testing the Limits”

Liars, Killers and Brauns, Oh My!

There has been a lot of negative news lately regarding professional athletes in the U.S. The Biogenesis scandal regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in Major League Baseball has re-sparked numerous debates over the validity of certain records, awards and potential future Hall of Fame eligibility. Free agent point guard Daniel Gibson was charged with battery for breaking a man’s jaw during an argument. And, of course, former1 New England Patriots tight end, Aaron Hernandez, was arrested and charged with murder.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, indeed.  Continue reading “Liars, Killers and Brauns, Oh My!”

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