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Poetry is not for the faint of heart. At least mine apparently isn’t.

I recently completed a book of poetry and asked some of my faithful first readers to consider offering me their feedback before I pass it onto my agent. One of my first first readers and one of the earliest supporters of my writing career replied thusly: I once enjoyed, and even wrote, poetry, but since…

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Quite possibly the cutest moment in my son’s entire life, which would be unfortunate.

My fear is that my son will never be as cute or captivating as he is in this moment. He may have peaked before the age of two. That’s a difficult burden to bear. Still in diapers and at his performance  pinnacle. I can only hope that this is the beginning of something truly great.  

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We don’t always treat kids fairly when it comes to food and choice

Mark Oppenheimer writes a piece in the New York Times entitled Let Them Drink Chocolate, in which he argues that parents are not fair and just when it comes to our decisions to limit our children’s diet, television consumption and the like. He writes: As a parent, I think that it’s time to declare a…

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Little people pushing little carriages

Whole Foods was my daughter’s favorite grocery store, which never made me happy since that store annoys the hell out of me. It’s not my fault. I’m allergic to smugness. It makes me hate everything around me.  Needless to say I was thrilled to learn that my children’s new favorite grocery store is the newly…

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My English degree finally pays off.

In 1999 I graduated from Trinity College with a Bachelor’s degree in English. Though I’m quite certain that my years of study have contributed to my success as a teacher and a writer, it’s always been difficult to pinpoint exactly how. An English degree teaches you to read, write and think, but you could already…

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Look what my wife made!

Technically she made our daughter (with a little help from me), but in this case, I’m referencing the skirt, which she made (along with another) over the the course of  day. As someone who has never made anything with his hands, I am unendingly impressed with my wife’s ability to envision something and then possess…

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New rule: NO MORE WEATHER TALK

I have a new policy, which I enacted (somewhat awkwardly) for the first time yesterday: Whenever the topic of conversation turns to the weather, and it doesn’t include a tornado, hurricane, major snow event, or similar weather anomaly, I leave the room if at all possible. We all have the current weather conditions and the…

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It’s the second parent’s second opinion that is often most valuable

Interesting data out of the UK indicates that that kids who grow up with a single parent or step-parent think of themselves as no less happy than kids who grow up with their biological mom and dad. Researchers from UK’s NatCen Social Research analyzed data from almost 13,000 children and found that children’s stated happiness…

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Productivity tip #5: Fewer shoes

Limiting choices and increasing the speed at which you make those choices will increase your productivity. I essentially have two choices when it comes to footwear: A pair of black sneakers and a pair of black shoes. When I’m deciding what to wear in the morning, my choice is simple. Unless I’m taking the stage…

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Someone actually ruined bacon.

My five year-old daughter is a self-selected vegetarian, except that she eats bacon. This is understandable, I think. Bacon is good. My friend, Tony, makes chicken wrapped in bacon for our tailgate parties, but when he runs out of chicken, he finishes off by bacon wrapped in bacon, which is my favorite. It seemed impossible…

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