I just woke up from a nap. It took place in a hammock under the coconut trees that line the beach. That’s where I napped yesterday too. And that’s why I didn’t write yesterday, in spite of saying that I would post every weekday until I have elaborated on all ten tips for traveling with children. I’ve been napping a lot since we got here and I’m not the only one. The boys continue to get nine to ten hours... Read more
On Valentine’s Day, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, aged 104 and 101 respectively, did something thoroughly modern: They tweeted. Married 85 years (86 in May), they teamed up with Twitter to share with the world their secrets to a long and happy marriage. Here are my favorite bits: Q: You got married very young – how did u both manage to grow as individuals yet not grow apart as a couple? “Everyone who plants a seed & harvests the crop celebrates... Read more
I once read a fairy tale about a land where no one had any extended family—no aunts, no uncles, no cousins. They did not even have brothers or sisters. The evil prince had outlawed siblings because he did not think he got his fair share of things when he was a child. In the whole land, no one had ever fought over who got the top bunk, or whether to go swimming or to the movies, or what they should... Read more
This is the last in my series of blogs on race. The previous ones are Why Aren’t People Talking to Me?, Do you Think Chinese Girls are Pretty?, and Why Louisiana Hot Sauce Didn’t Go With Chinese Stir Fry. 25 years ago, on a summer urban missions project, I put my foot in my mouth. “You look like Aunt Jemima,” I said to an African-American friend wearing a bandana over her head. She looked at me without a smile, “Kathy,... Read more
“Can we go to the pool tonight, mom?” “But you just spent four hours in the ocean.” “I know. But I just really, really want to go to the pool after dinner.” Hence my numero uno tip for traveling with children: #1 – Stay somewhere with a pool. (Today is day three of my Traveling With Children series. Read Day One here and Day Two here.) Staying somewhere with a pool may not seem like much to the uninitiated, but I... Read more
Prosecutors in New Jersey are throwing the book at Rutger’s student Dharun Ravi, two years after he spied on his homosexual roommate who later jumped off the George Washington Bridge. The trial has just begun and promises to be on the news for the next several days and weeks. When the story first broke, we were told that Tyler Clementi had a gay sexual encounter with a man which his roommate posted on the internet, consequently outing his shy roommate. ... Read more
When we returned from a monthlong trip to China in 2010, people were eager to hear what the boys thought. They all asked some version of the question, “What was your favorite part of the trip.” Zach’s answer never changed: “I got a wallet.” Well then, that was worth many thousands of dollars, right? Last week, I started a series of posts on traveling with children by listing my top ten tips. This week and next, I’ll expand on each... Read more
School, church and hours and hours of basketball? That’s not the usual order of things in most Asian and Asian-American households, but Shirley Lin (mother of NBA rookie phenom Jeremy Lin) isn’t a typical Tiger mother. She was even criticized by her peers for allowing her boys to spend so much time honing their skills on the court…but she knew they loved the game, so she loved it alongside them. Here’s an interesting article from the New York Times about... Read more
When Ezra was two and Zach was three, we went to a squatter’s village in Mexico and, working with the people living there, we cleaned the school each morning for a week. While the poverty of the village – the living conditions, the prospects of its residents, all of those awful malnourished dogs running everywhere – weighed heavily on me, my kids felt no such burden. They couldn’t believe how awesome the place was. There were crazy dogs running... Read more
Hey What She Said readers! Come on over to our sister blog, “What She Read” to find out about a new book by Arthur Boers about technology and distraction. Confession: I was thinking about this book review while sitting in Bible study while texting my friend. Does this mean I have a technology problem? Read the review here. Read more
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