Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
The In-Between
The first thing I knew was warmth. Sunlight. I opened my eyes and had to immediately shade them from the blinding light. The next thing I knew was soft beneath my hand and arms. Grass. Softer and greener than any grass I’d ever known before. Where was I? A field?
By Riley Julian Minnich6 years ago in Families
A Story of Chairs
Think of the chairs in your life. Did your mom or dad have a favorite chair? Did your Grandparents? I think of my first chair, a diminutive red velvet rocking chair that I named “Redda.” My dad picked it up from a roadside stand during one of his trucking trips and gave it to me shortly after my birth. It went through me as well as four younger siblings and by the end of our childhood most of the dark red velvet was rubbed of the seat and arms. The back came loose twice while my dad was alive. The last time he fixed it, he told me that if it happened again, it was going to the dump. It was a thought that nearly broke my heart. I loved that little chair and had spent many hours in it, playing with toys at the old olive green coffee table, reading Dick and Jane books or listening to records on the old record player. I was very careful with it after that warning and frequently cautioned my younger siblings to treat with care as well.
By Amber M Martell6 years ago in Families
Fracture
You’ve been here before, your friend holding an innocent captive behind the rusted barrel of a silver Glock. It’s his father’s. Faint rings of white powder crust around his nostrils like crystalized sugar, and his shoulders sag. It takes all his energy to lift his right arm, the pistol grabbing gravity like a bell weight. But he stands firm, the clerk mesmerized by those glazed eyes.
By Christian Wright6 years ago in Families
10 Best Fantasy Books for Children
The first books I can remember were those written by the popular British children’s author, Enid Blyton. Her books were ubiquitous in my world, and she was the J.K. Rowling of her time. I started out with her “Noddy” series, a wooden toy elf, and his friend Big Ears, the dwarf. Now, I can see Enid Blyton as a product of her time and generation: the “stiff upper lip” white British middle class, but she was what we had during the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. Her books invoked a sense of familiarity and coziness, and the young adult characters had unparalleled freedom to do what they wanted and to go wherever they wanted. That was intoxicating to the freedom-loving child I was!
By Katlynn Brooke6 years ago in Families
Disbanding the Normative Nuclear Family
The concept of “The Family” unanimously pervades cultures and communities, albeit without remaining universal in its meaning, despite stereotyped understandings of what a ‘family’ is. This essay will consider whether the concept of the family is exactified or dissembled through anthropological study in exploring differing understandings and examples of “The Family”, and how these representations help us understand if a concrete notion of family can be established and, if, so, how that notion may be defined. In order to conduct this consideration, the more stereotypical understanding of the nuclear family will be observed through considering a Malinowskian viewpoint, which will then be questioned in relation to more ethnographically-sourced observations of “The Family”. The overarching message of this essay will be to evoke the sentiment that “families- like religions, economies, governments, or courts of law- are not unchanging but the product of various social forms, that the relationship of spouses and parents to their young are apt to be different things in different social orders.” (Collier et al, 76) From this understanding, this essay will hopefully succeed in articulating how the anthropological study of “The Family” gives meaning to the term, and how that meaning effectively develops a conceptualization of familial structures.
By Channing Cook6 years ago in Families
From an adoptive parent during the "black lives matter" movement
The "Black lives matter" movement brings a bit of hope for my child's future. To be honest, my decision never came easy. I knew it would never be an easy fight, but my wish for us to be family was my fuel. I think and overthink all the scenarios that can or might be happening to him. Some can be upsetting. Because of that, I try desperately to prepare him. Many times my decision to "take him from his home" was misjudged. There'll always be people to comment on what you do, no matter what you do and without knowing facts. My focus is not on that kind of people. Yours shouldn't be on them, also. My focus is on Karim, my family, my friends and trying to make everything work for us, fairly.
By Corina G. Prutean6 years ago in Families
It's all hard to believe.
I'm almost 39, a mother of 4, a grandmother of 3 and have been widowed for just over 3 yrs. When I tell most people my story they are in shock and ask how are you still going, I always tell them I didn't know quitting was an option. You do what you have to do an move forward.
By Jesica Cease6 years ago in Families
Single and not ready to mingle!
I honestly don’t even know where the heck to begin with my life except that I am a single mother of two beautiful children. My name is Jillian and let me tell you this, if you are thinking about having kids get ready to die to self. I didn’t realize how selfish of a person I was until I had my children. I can’t use the bathroom without them banging on the door, “LET ME IN”, or cleaning the bedroom while my 3 year old son is putting freaking flour in the toaster oven and the dishwasher.
By Jillian Cortez6 years ago in Families
