Ages + Stages

At the end of August my daughter and I spent a week in Southern California at my grandparent's place. It was one of the best vacations I can remember. My grandparents are in their late 80s, and life is...

In the fall, who could have predicted what the last day of the 2019-2020 school year would look like? Instead of the usual fanfare, fun, and ceremony of a typical last day, our family forgot it was *technically* the...

My five-year-old’s face lit with excitement as we pulled into our driveway on the first rainy day of the season. The yellow leaves had started falling, and it finally felt like fall after a long, hot summer. As only...

There’s something about Portland autumns: the crispness in the air on a brisk morning, the golden tinge to the sunlight, the colors sweeping over the landscape in brassy reds and yellows. This season happens to be my favorite, and...

We all know the scene: our children are running around pointing sticks or Nerf guns at each other shooting, attacking, and killing each other and then celebrating and rejoicing in their victory. For many of us, our knee-jerk response...

We try not to have the news on when our kids are around. They have enough to think about without adding sex scandals, kidnappings, and athletes beating their girlfriends to the list. However, when last month's shooting at Marjory...

The tears most readily appear at bedtime. The nighttime routine of tickling backs and saying our prayers often opens up a safe place to voice the suppressed rumblings deep inside. This past year has been full of transition for...

There’s a man standing in line just ahead my family and me at Skyzone. He looks to be maybe mid-fifties, patiently waiting, and he doesn’t appear to be with any children. Why, I wonder, would anyone voluntarily come to...

People asked me if I’d come back after maternity leave. I laughed and explained to them that five weeks after my due date is our intern farewell event. Given that I had personally recruited, interviewed and helped hand pick...