As a young 21 - 22 year old senior in college, I drove around in my VW Golf, with a sign taped onto the glove box that said "YOU ARE IN CONTROL." Well, my fiance, soon to be husband, used to tease me and tell me that I needed to give birth to a "litter." He was of the view that I had the same Type A personality that a cat has. In his experience, cats mellowed out after they had their first litter. This is not scientific mind you, just anecdotal. I didn't mellow out any time soon, as I am sure the 4 step-children we had custody of within the first 6 months of our marriage can attest to. I didn't mellow out for a long, long time. Too long, in fact. Bless those 4 beautiful children who had to endure my obsession to control them. Not to be misunderstood, there were A LOT of things that we needed to get a handle on and control was the only way to go about it. But I took farther than was necessary or healthy. "Li...
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the j...
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