I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, a city away from all of those dedicated if deluded North Side of Chicago Cubs fans. As anyone from Chicago knows, these fans are famous their belief in “next year,” “the comeback,” and the eternal second chance. (see kslatz.blogspot.com) As far as I’m concerned, though, that sort of “it […]
March 21, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
So let’s return to yesterday’s post, where I left you with a Comparative Literature Major, enthralled by the Gaelic tradition and busily writing a thesis on its impact on James Joyce, whose novels you–along with most of the literate world–never finished. And then there was the Theater Major, busily practicing for her role as the […]
March 20, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
I fear that if I tell one more “in my day” story, readers will start to wonder if I’m in fact an ancient artifact, unearthed by some enterprising archeologist, dusted off, propped up in some Herman Miller chair, and taught to type (unlike any of today’s youth, who are expected to use computers without even a passing […]
March 18, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
So I hear congratulations are in order. Your young-adult child has managed to pull a maneuver at once so suave, so foolhardy, so dangerous, so. . . .stupid, that he is in the running for winning our Stupid Young-Adult Child Tricks Contest. You, like all parents whose children have entered this competition unbeknownst to them, […]
March 17, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
“Did you ever get the feeling there’s a wocket in your pocket?” Thus begins my youngest granddaughter’s favorite classic, named, appropriately, Wocket in My Pocket, by Dr. Seuss. You might think it’s just a silly book with goofy rhyming words that engages children so young they don’t understand a plot. A sly narrative about the […]
March 16, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
13. It always gets that bad ‘unlucky’ rap, even in these progressive days and times. There’s just no escaping it. So it will be no surprise to parents, who thought they saw the backsides of their children when they sent them off a full-paid college experience, that 13% of parents with grown children now claim […]
March 15, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
Sometimes all the setting of boundaries, the just-say-no-ing, and the financial tough love can’t keep your adult children afloat in the outside world, and it’s time to let them come and rest their battered and weary heads in your home, under your protection, until they have the strength and wherewithal to head out again. If your child […]
March 14, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
Brian always seemed a few steps behind everyone else socially, unsure when to laugh, when to put himself forward, when to retreat. His stutter contributed to his painful shyness. And from the get-go he had never managed to get his school work done. Not from the time he was in first grade and was expected […]
March 13, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation. ~Jack Kinder So you’re ready to set boundaries with and just say no to your over-indulged adult child–and you haven’t the faintest idea where to begin. Well, you’ve come to the right place. It’s time to teach your child financial responsibility–a bit late, it’s […]
March 12, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
So let’s say, just for the sake of argument, you have the adult child who won’t leave, a child you support even though she doesn’t work, a child you’ve tried to help by finding different jobs for her in the family business, none of which particularly showed her in the greatest light. Perhaps you’re still living […]
March 9, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
I won’t grow up/I don’t want to wear a tie/And a serious expression/In the middle of July./And if it means I must prepare/To shoulder burdens with a worried air,/I’ll never grow up/never grow up, never grow up/Not me/Not I/Not me!/So there! ~ Peter Pan If you’re as ancient as I am, you’ll probably remember this: […]
March 22, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
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