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#TBT: The Village Voice – Part One: Breaking Up is Hard To Do…..

26 Feb

In honor of #tbt (that’s Throw-Back Thursday) we are bringing back some of our (and your!) favorite pieces, many of them updated with new pics! Enjoy!

A couple of previous posts of mine The Value of Mom Friends and The Friendship Village, kind of explored who we surround ourselves with. Watching Ben and his buddies negotiate the art of friendships and interacting with my own friends lately has really had this village business on my mind. I thought I’d share a little of what I’ve been thinking…..

While winter seems to rage on and people cannot yet do their early spring cleaning, something in the dust must be making many of us want to do an internal clean up instead…. Continue reading

The Gossip – No Gossip Challenge

17 Feb

Have you ever gotten off the phone with a friend and wanted to take back half of what you said? Maybe you wished you were more positive about someone or something, or you repeated a conversation you had with another friend in confidence? Continue reading

#TBT: The Value of Mom Friends

29 Jan

In honor of #tbt (that’s Throw-Back Thursday) we are bringing back some of our (and your!) favorite pieces, many of them updated with new pics! Enjoy!

I spent the first 43 years of my life without children of my own. I was a master at judging parents – and not very kindly, I’m afraid. I couldn’t comprehend why they couldn’t make their three year olds sit quietly in a restaurant or why they didn’t leave their kids home when eating, visiting, traveling or shopping. I absolutely could not understand why their children had to interrupt my very important phone conversations with their moms or why my pals weren’t jumping at the chance to meet (single) me for breakfast, lunch, dinner or the theatre, or come away with me to Martha’s Vineyard. Continue reading

The Brighter Side of the ‘Play Date’

7 Oct

A couple of months ago, there was some attention drawn to what I thought was a fairly humorous movement to do away with the ‘play date’ (One example: http://www.dadncharge.com/2014/07/banish-playdate.html ). Bloggers and parents alike were weighing in on how planned-ahead play dates have ruined the spontaneity of running down the street and knocking on doors to find a friend, how inconvenient it is to have to be affable with some kids’ parents and even how structured play dates make kids unable to make up games and activities to combat their boredom. Continue reading

Living on the Farm in the City….

24 Feb

I am re-thinking our family motto –‘There is always room for one more dog’. As you might know from stuff I’ve written, we have six rescues – three dogs, two cats and a fish. It’s pretty labor intensive sometimes, but I am in love with all of them (even Charlie the fish), appreciate and empathize with each of their previous dower circumstances and I am committed to giving them the best lives ever.

That said, let me tell you about the last 24 hours… Continue reading

The Friendship Village

28 Dec

It takes a village – you’ve no doubt heard that old African proverb countless times. Well, I completely buy into that adage and believe that we all, in fact, have several villages in our lives, some of which go on simultaneously through our lives. Continue reading

Bloggers Block

8 Feb

For as many people as there are out there blogging, I am often amazed at how many can churn out their thoughts so seemingly effortlessly and frequently. Me? Not so much….

My friend Sarah, who is my manager/motivator/blog poster/supporter/former English teacher extraordinaire and tenacious nag, lights a fire under me when it’s time for a new post. It usually takes place via email and goes pretty much like this:

From: Sarah                                                                                                                                                                                                                         To: Terri                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Subject: Helloooo out there?!?!?

Helloooooo? Terri? Are you there Terri? It’s me, your bossy friend who nags you about your blog!!! I feel like that annoying neighbor who is trying to figure out if you are home by knocking and peeking in windows. Meanwhile, you are hiding out and ducking around corners hoping I can’t see you…

How’s the writing going? Want to blog about over-committing yourself? 🙂

Hope all is well – let me know when we can meet…it’s time!

Love,

S

Ps. On Saturday afternoon I was making YOUR chocolate chip cookie recipe, and James Taylor came on the radio. It was like you were controlling my universe for a second there… 🙂

From: Terri                                                                                                                                                                                                                          To: Sarah                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Subject: Leave me alone!!!!

Yeah, well, you are such a….I mean, I am trying to….I mean, all you do is nag, nag, nag….of course I’ve got nothing!

Well, because today I had a PD presentation (incredibly fun!!) in Dearborn and it was a very long ride with all the snow and everything.

Came home to write up a storm so you would quit bugging me, except for my sweet boy Jack (best cat ever), who had been to the vet twice last week with old age weight loss (why can’t that part happen to me?) and a respiratory infection was sneezing and wheezing again. Back to the vet we went. $147, just in case you were wondering.

Only to come home to a call from Ben to please come get him from school because, after having his head smashed last night while playing football in the house on the wood floor during the blackout at the Super Bowl, I sent him to school feeling kind of dizzy and achy, and now it was getting worse. To the doctor. Slight concussion. No biggie.

Except for, this is how every single day of my life has been for the past three weeks and I swear I’m going to hurt someone very soon.

So, tomorrow after Trader Joe’s (have you been to the new one yet – love it!), Pilates and my microderm, I will write and finish and get a grip. I SWEAR. My next thing will be fabulous and you will be so proud and thrilled that you’ll only wish you had something to nag me about.

Really.

Unless one of the dogs get sick.

Or Ben falls out of bed.

Or I decide to switch around my kitchen cabinets.

Or bake that new dark chocolate toffee recipe. (Dark chocolate is very good for you, Sarah!)

Or something.

TCC

A Second Chance at a First Impression

10 Dec

About 14 years ago when Gary and I were just engaged, I took his dog, Duggan, to the vet. Duggan, a large collie-shepard mix, had come to live with me in my stair-less home when his health and legs were failing.

My regular, fantastic, favorite vet was not at the clinic that day, so I agreed to see another. Continue reading

Monday Memorandum #4

19 Nov

Five more points from TCC’s Parent-Teacher Partnership Skills Session

“Kids don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Continue reading

Monday Memorandum #3

12 Nov

Five more points from TCC’s Parent-Teacher Partnership Skills Session


“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.”

                                                                                                                                         Lily Tomlin Continue reading

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