We tell ourselves it is necessary to send our children away on their own to prepare them for adulthood. I am beginning to believe we must send our children away on their own to prepare us for their adulthood. Last Sunday morning we dropped our 11-year-old son off at the Publix parking lot where he … Continue reading Separation anxiety
Tag: parenting
Playing catch up
I’ve spent the better part of the last week in Fort Worth, Texas, working long hours, enduring incredible heat and spending time with my youngest brother and his family. The 8-day odyssey to the place of my birth felt more like two trips in one. The first four days I was engaged in the annual … Continue reading Playing catch up
What I want to tell my dad
Of all the retail-induced holidays, Father’s Day requires the most time at the greeting card shelf. It takes me forever to find something that captures the essence of the relationship I have with my dad. I don’t know who writes cards these days, but some of us would like something more meaningful than fishing, golf, … Continue reading What I want to tell my dad
On the move
As I dipped a scoop of chocolate ice cream onto a sugar cone, it hit me: the Normans really are moving. A Sunday afternoon ice cream party for our friends appeared to be a typical Southern backyard get-together. Children played. Adults talked. Everybody ate. But what I hadn’t really thought about as we prepared for … Continue reading On the move
In search of the moment
As temperatures rose into the upper 80s, I packed the minivan for a three-night campout at Black Rock Mountain State Park just north of Clayton. With sweat running down my forehead and my patience waning, Carlton and Harris sat in their seats too eager to get underway to heed my repeated instructions to stay out … Continue reading In search of the moment
No more pencils, no more books
School’s out for the summer. Now what? One thing is for sure: sitting around doing nothing is not an option. Summer is play time. It seems that in the New South, everyone has somewhere to go … all the time. Our schedules don't allow for plain ol’ downtime. You remember that, right? Get-up-at-11-stay-in-your-pajamas-watch-TV-barely-move-off-the-sofa-all-day-kind-of-lazy? Those days … Continue reading No more pencils, no more books
Just a swingin’
Childhood obesity. Video games. Television. Air quality. Bugs. Weather. There are lots of circumstances that conspire against children playing outdoors these days, so much so that getting kids outside is one of the biggest challenges of parenting in the New South. Long gone are the days when barefoot children hit the screen door after breakfast and … Continue reading Just a swingin’
What I love about Mom
In the South – old or new – we love our mothers. It’s the right thing to do, and even in those rare circumstances when it may be difficult, a child’s bond with his or her mother lasts a lifetime. As I age my relationship is changing with my mom. It is growing and deepening … Continue reading What I love about Mom
Happy trails (mostly)
This week Harris and I embarked on a 4.8 mile journey that has come to represent more than just a hike through the Chattahoochee National Forest. This rite of passage for my boys began five years ago when Barron was six. We made a similar journey from Amicalola Falls State Park to the Len Foote … Continue reading Happy trails (mostly)
New South Bracketology
There are times I pretend to be an expert: any discussion of running, life in the New South, Star Wars and fantasy football. There are other times when no amount of pretending can cover up glaring ignorance: parenting, relationships, basic plumbing and filling out NCAA tournament brackets. The mania that has swept the country during … Continue reading New South Bracketology
New South Essays 