https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlPhMPnQ58k (this is a very good but very sad song that reminds me of other places, other people, other things that I miss hugely. Not to say I don't love where I am and who I am here with, but it doesn't, and it can't include all that I hold dear.) Every time we start to get ready to leave a post, every time we start to think about the logistics of moving and what to get rid of and what we will put in storage, every time it comes time to say

I think one of the hardest things for parents to understand when they are having problems with respect from their kids is that it is probably because they are trying too hard to be buddies with their kids, and to be liked by their kids and their kids’ friends. You are not your kid’s friend, you are their parent. And there really isn’t a way to be both. Ouch, right? I mean, who doesn’t want to be liked by their kid, right? Let me explain this a different way. One of the w

My dearest boys, So excited! School is starting tomorrow! This is your big day! I know you’re not excited for classes to start so much as you are to see your friends. What fun it will be to tell them all about your summer, your adventures, and your triumphs! So much and so little has changed. I look at you three and get a knot in my throat: look at how much you’ve grown and changed over this summer break! Time is flying by. And, most importantly, after all of this forc

‘You can be smart, you can be beautiful, but if you don’t know how to treat people, if you don’t walk into a room and say hello, if you don’t say thank you, if you’re not looking out for the kid who’s sitting alone by his or herself, then who are you?’ Michelle Obama One of the things I truly love about parenting is when I hear something I believe is of value coming back out of my kids’ mouths. Oh sure, this very same parroting has come back to bite me in the keister more o

Confession time: There are moments when my kids drive me bananas. Like certifiable, up-the-wall crazy. There are no three people more skilled at finding and pushing my buttons, except perhaps their dad. But then there are no four people who know me better, right? For that matter, there are also no four people whom I hold more dear. We as expats move a lot. We lug our stuff to and fro, packing and unpacking, settling and resettling. Perhaps military folks aside, I know n

‘You can be smart, you can be beautiful, but if you don’t know how to treat people, if you don’t walk into a room and say hello, if you don’t say thank you, if you’re not looking out for the kid who’s sitting alone by his or herself, then who are you?’ Michelle Obama One of the things I truly love about parenting is when I hear something I believe is of value coming back out of my kids’ mouths. Oh sure, this very same parroting has come back to bite me in the keister more o

I was reading back through some of my earlier blog post. One caught my eye and stuck in my mind. I was writing about our different families: those that we are born with, and then those that we choose for ourselves. Beyond our spouses and our children, we also choose our families with the friendships we make. Especially overseas, where we often live across oceans from our biological families, it is vital to create a support system for ourselves. These are the people we tu

Take a look at everyone you know. Your friends, your loved ones. Your acquaintances. Now think about your interactions with all of these people. I’m not talking about every single time you speak to each one of them, but rather a general overlying tone of your interactions with these individuals. There are two kinds of people in your life. The first group are those that add positive things to your life. These are the positive influences and loving people, those you lov