You know how you have those friends that you can sit with and have nothing to say, and it's fine? No awkwardness, no need to add anything verbal, just being, and enjoying and it's all good. Those are not the friends I am talking about here. Those friends, let them know how much you appreciate them in your life. Here, I am talking about other people - the people who have to have something to share, who have to be in the know and have something to say, no matter what. These

(Flash from the past) First, let me tell you a story. There was this FS family who moved to a new post overseas. They had been to other posts; this was not their first go at this. They arrived, dragged themselves to the grocery store, wandered around, spending an inordinate amount on a pitiful number of items. They pushed through the jet lag to get to a 'normal' bedtime , and then, like zombies, dropped into a listless sleep. Their arrival was not horrible, but not grea

“We forget that what they need is the freedom to be children, to be curious, to be sheltered from the worries of adult life - even if for a little while. We ignore the fact that the myths about needing to go to the best nursery, have the best grades, extracurricular activities, and community service in order to succeed academically are largely unfounded. In fact, the only thing hyper-parenting has been shown to do is lead to depression and its destructive side effects in adol

The content for the original Sesame Street is not suitable for young children. I repeat, Sesame Street is not kid-appropriate. I know! The Classic show we all think about as being the ultimate kid show, the classic reference point, what we all know and love and remember from growing up, and … now it’s not appropriate for our kids? I think we need to explore this a little bit more. Let’s talk about all of the supposed faux-pas of our beloved Sesame Street: We have mood diso

How do you define ‘community’? And why is that even important? What lesson is there in ‘community’ for your kids? All good questions, am I right? But not easy to answer. According to the dictionary, the first definition of a ‘community’ is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Sure, that’s all good and well. I am more interested in the second definition provided, though (the Big C community): a feeling of fellowship