The year is coming to an end and I would absolutely love to wrap up my journey toward the adoption of a child up in a pretty package, waiting under the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, life is not that simple. Or maybe it is, I just am not in that flow…. […]
by Karen Hug-Nagy
Once upon a time there was a single girl who lived in a little white house. She lived alone and was searching for just the right person to settle down with and start a family. The house was so small that she barely had room for even a tiny Christmas tree. […]
by Valerie Gillies, LMFT
“Boiling point: The point at which anger or excitement breaks out into violent expression” – Wikipedia
Halloween in Connecticut came on the heels of a snowstorm of epic proportions. That is no exaggeration. Trick or treating was cancelled; power was out for over a week. Yes, people even lived (if you can call it that) without the Internet and cable, in unheated homes filled with ‘bored’ children. It was not a pretty sight. And that, my friend, was the start of the 2011 holiday season. “Uh oh” is right. In a flash we were through Thanksgiving, when the starting pistol was fired for the four-day marathon of Black Friday sales, followed by sensory overload, sleep deprivation and unlimited access to guilt. […]
by Andrea Lynn
I know I’m not supposed to embrace the “more gifts” approach to Christmas. But all I want for Christmas this year is more toys for my kids. I do. I covet all sorts of shiny and colorful things that I know they will love. My budget is tight, and I am trying to be financially responsible, but I see things other kids have and I want my kids to have that too. It is absolutely politically, morally, ethically corrupt to admit that, at this time of year especially, but I am fearless. I want more toys for my kids. […]
by MeiMei Fox
A recent article in The New York Times points to a growing mountain of research supporting the idea that gratitude is good for us. The article states that “cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.” […]
by Cyma Shapiro
I am an only child. My childhood was spent alone. As the youngest cousin on one side of the family and the very oldest on the other, family gatherings were lonely and unpleasant. In short, I had little interaction with anyone; I quickly learned the skill of self-play and self-containment.
Now, as the mother of four children – two in each generation – I watch their interactions with wonderment and, this year, with joy. I also recently learned a thing or two about love and family. […]
by Cyma Shapiro
During the past few weeks, I’ve read several interesting articles on the 
website http://www.Kveller.com: the inclusion of Santa Claus in the Macy’s Day Parade; the struggle that interfaith relationships (esp. with children) present relative to their respective families (esp. at this time of year); and how the sending of year-end holiday cards presents a predicament if I, as a Jew, choose to celebrate my holiday in the most traditional of manners. […]
by Jane Samuel
Years ago my husband had a colleague by the name of Les Moore. He was a hardworking, quality guy, but he was not a “big man” in physical stature – a geeky engineer for sure. My husband, also a geeky engineer at the time, would always joke about Les and his work ethic and his trim stature by saying this little ditty whenever Les’s name came up in conversation, “Ah, Les Moore – when Les is Moore!” […]
by Peg O'Neill, M.D.
As always, it’s hard to believe that we’ve arrived so quickly at the end of the year, the season of giving thanks for what we’ve received, of giving to others and of reflecting on where we’ve been and where we’re going […]
by Flora Sussely
The Biology of Absence
We don’t realize how much we keep track in our cells.
How we note the absence and the quiet that swells
Hollow is a word I think when I walk in the door
It’s hard not to expect him and just put on the chain
I wash my hair and all the while his DNA strands
weave a basket in which my heart lies wet at my own feet. […]