In the ZagZig that is life raising teenagers and young adults – part of a species whose brains haven’t fully developed yet according to science – at least until their late 20’s – I have shared some downs and funny, vulnerable moments, but today I share a highlight. It came in the form of a present. Years ago, we started a tradition that we say nice things about a family members on his/her birthday; it is one nice thing that is extra special and/or we love about the person for

Influenza A hit me hard last week and my family is still trying to recover. Even though I went through the whole flu shot routine it was a strain from Australia that got me and wasn’t part of the vaccine I received. This left me in a position I haven’t been in a very long time. I didn’t want to parent. No way, no how! Unfortunately, this was not something anyone was aware of at my house as I thought it was an unwritten but standard rule for anyone that gets the flu – no

As the kids reach the late-teen to early-adult years, the parent-child relationship goes through a renegotiation phase. While the parenting instinct to protect stays strong, the child spreads her wings even wider. She does not want to be confined by house rules she no longer adheres to at college, including cell-phone privacy. As a dad I still cling to my controls, but for different reasons that she thinks. It all started when Number 2 was in middle school – just a few years

We are finally returning to our everyday ZagZig life after zigzagging through the holidays. Two of the kids have returned to their lives out of state/country, the other two are back in school, and earlier in the week the last of our houseguests departed for their own homes, including the extra dog. I absolutely LOVE family and a house full of relatives, friends and loves ones, and I have to admit that I love the simplicity in the aftermath of it all. At this point in life, I