Tag Archives: rites of passage

Rite of Passage: My Son Tied His Own Shoes!

Yesterday my son tied his own shoes. This may not seem like much of a cause for celebration since he’s almost seven but it was. You see, Tyler has worn Velcro shoes most of his life. I had all but given up on trying to teach him how to ties his shoes. I bought one of those little books with the shoestrings where kids can practice the fine art of shoe tying but frankly, Tyler wasn’t interested. He tried a few times but when he could not get the hang of it, he announced that he would simply wear Velcro … Continue reading →

Never Underestimate the Healing Power of Ice Cream

Yesterday Tyler was outside playing when he ran up to me screaming bloody murder. He had fallen and skinned both knees. After cleaning up the wounds and applying a nice flexible Band-Aid, I was all ready to send him on his way when he turned to me and said, “I think some ice cream will make it feel better.” Ah, the innocence of youth. Wouldn’t it be great if we could ease all of our problems with a nice big old bowl of ice cream? As adults, we know that life’s not that simple but kids really think they can … Continue reading →

Cutting The Apron Strings

No matter how much I say I want to cut the apron strings I realize that a part of me is not ready to let go of Tyler. Take his hair for instance. He’s six-years-old and until two weeks ago I was still combing his hair. He was perfectly capable of doing it himself but I was still holding on to that last remnant of his babyhood. Until school started, he wore his hair in braids and had since he was an infant. In our family we don’t cut our boys hair until they are two (don’t ask me why, … Continue reading →