Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The Lonely Child
"Nobody likes me." "I don't have any friends." "I am lonely and sad." "I'm Bored." "What's wrong with me?" Nothing touches the heartstrings of a parent or teacher more than seeing the left-out child. We wish there was something we could do to ensure the child will be, if not the most popular, at least included in the games on the playground.
By Judy Helm Wright6 years ago in Families
As Seen On TV
We’ve all heard the commercial... So much stuff, not enough space... It echos in my head. I hold on to things. They are my memories. Just like the pictures I take, almost every object I own have a distinct memory attached to it. Sometimes it is just the place and time it was purchased. Or who was with me when I bought it. Some things have been handed down or have been gifts. I still have this stupid little plastic “trophy” that I received in 4th grade. I came in second place in a reading contest. Everyone knew they wouldn’t beat the person who won first, but I was gonna try! I tried so hard that I even cheated. Yep! I keep a trophy I won by cheating. Well, I won second place fair and square but after I secured my place, I passed my numbers with reading the first and last chapters along with the back covers of about a hundred books. I could have read them but I had family responsibilities beyond my years. So, I hold on to this stupid plastic Monkey trophy from 4th grade that holds more memories than anyone should have guessed.
By Amanda Flynn Oster6 years ago in Families
EIMBY
I wrote this piece a few years ago. March 22, 2018, in fact. It is a day that will live in my memory forever. I found this piece this morning and while reading it, I thought about the state of the world today. The racial, social and political tension that is plaguing our country and her people in 2020 is far beyond anything I can remember in my lifetime. Perhaps we all need to take a step back and remember who we are and what we are made of as a country.
By Phoenixx Fyre Dean6 years ago in Families
Why moms are feeling exhausted and unhappy
A monster under recovery As a parent sometimes we feel mentally and physically exhausted. Sometimes parenting, especially for single parents, it's hard to balance family, work, and self-care. We stop thinking about our physical and mental health. The lack of support, extremely high expectations for new parents, opinions, and trauma may trigger hate or dislike feeling from parents towards their kids. Unfortunately, we never took the time to understand or even try to walk their shoes for one day to better understand why they are having those feelings towards their kids; instead, we call them evil, or bad parents, We don't show any compassion, and just spend all our energy judging their behavior. But Why a parent can say those things to their kids or why they become so distant? It's important as a society to understand what triggers a parent to say, "I hate my kid," or "My kids destroy my life". Those words sound bad right, but I used to say them all the time……But what change? What made me realize that I was projecting my frustrations, mental exhaustion, and personal trauma to my kids? What makes me realize that I was not a mean or bad mom (I was still providing for my kids) instead I was just an exhausted mom that commit one the biggest mistakes that parents can do……put others first. How people pretended for me to be an amazing and caring mom when I was having problems loving myself and managing my emotions?
By jainie miranda6 years ago in Families
Beaming
Me and My husband Jeff, along with our 11-year-old grandson Joe travel to a piece of property with two homes and gardeners house on it, the two-hour drive is filled with beautiful sites along the Umpqua River, on some occasions, we have been graced with the presence of Elk in the area, after all the town we are traveling to is named Elkton.
By Suzanne Urban6 years ago in Families
