Many times in both educational and parenting circles, we hear talk of how important it is to develop resilience in our youth to see them through the challenging times. It is an essential ingredient in the fight to combat the epidemic of anxiety and depression that seems to plague our teens. Yet from both a … Continue reading Getting It Right
The advent of DNA testing raises so many issues for families like mine. On the one hand, it provides opportunities for discovering biological origins and providing invaluable links that may otherwise never be known. On the other hand, it can uncover donors and connections that may or may not be welcome, and in some cases, … Continue reading DNA Testing: We Found Him
There is a new development in our house…Master Z has a girlfriend. And not just a ‘Will you go out with me?’, then five seconds later ‘You are dropped’ type of girlfriend. This one seems genuine. They chat all the time on the phone and via social media, and have spent quite a few occasions … Continue reading A New Development In Our House
Our youth tend to get a bad rap at times. I read recently about how the dreaded ‘Helicopter Parents’ - who swoop in at the first sign of trouble - have been usurped by new variety of overbearing Parentals known as the ‘Lawn Mower Parents’. These ‘Lawn Mower Parents’ are the parents who actually go … Continue reading It’s Not All Bad
What I wanted, as a young twentysomething girl, was to fall in love. I wanted romance, I wanted fun - I wanted adventure. I wanted to share these things with someone who was as 'into' me as I was into them. Like anyone my age, I wanted to experience the intense feelings so characteristic of the romantic comedies … Continue reading The Pink Sofa
A friend yesterday confided to me that her nineteen year old daughter has come out to her as being gay. Believe it or not, I cried as she told me. I cried even more afterwards. I was stunned at how much it affected me, and it’s only just now, the day after, that I’m figuring … Continue reading Growing Up
I feel like a coward. I keep teetering on the edge of ‘Coming Out’ at work, but then I keep finding that the opportunity doesn’t present itself. Even when it does, I sidestep it. I don’t think I’ve been ready. Over the last couple of weeks, however, I’ve started to feel differently. It’s coming, I … Continue reading Out of the Box
“When it comes to generating writing material, teenagers are gold. Their world is a narcissistic, anarchic, paranoid hell of anxieties and stresses about how they look; how popular they are or aren’t; and how fast or slowly, big or small their private parts are growing […] Lifts and pocket money aside, teenagers crave privacy – … Continue reading So Many Baskets
Parenting is a drug. The highs are amazing, euphoric even. The lows: the worst come down ever. Nothing makes you confront your own feelings of inadequacy and fractures your sense of self-worth like a teenager with a bee in his (or her) bonnet. That same being you held to your breast and nurtured, that you … Continue reading Drug of Choice
We received an invitation for Master Z ‘and his family’ to have afternoon tea with the local member on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate his receiving a ‘Local Sporting Champion’ grant. He’s had a great year with his sport, playing hockey at National level plus State level for both club and school hockey. Initially, I felt … Continue reading Ready or Not, Here Come the Teen Years.
My Rainbow Tribe 
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