Right-Sizing Christmas Eve
I right-sized Christmas Eve in our family calendar. But something was missing. Ah. . . there was no stress.
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Articles onFamily & Friends
A Grandmother’s Worries
Fears of war have always been present. But today there are several worries that are entirely new. Though we always feared we might destroy each other, the idea that we might destroy our planet is a fairly new one. What kind of future will our young people inherit?
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Memorial Day: A Day To Remember Those Who Died In Active Military Service and Those Left Traumatized
There are those of us who mourn those who returned to lives that were never fully lived due to post traumatic stress.These men, in their 80s and 90s, still talked about the recurring nightmares, the unexpected flashbacks, the isolation that they had endured after the war was over.
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Being A Mother — The Role of A Lifetime
Motherhood causes a shift in identity that may occur suddenly, but remains stubbornly in place ever after.
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Adult Children and Stepmothers: Cinderella 2.0?
Elderly men are easy targets for schemers, both in relationships and in business. But they are particularly vulnerable to caretaking women. On the other hand, while the fairy-tale-version stepmother has enormous power, in real life she often feels as if she has none.
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Love In All Contexts: My Two Aunt Mims
“Every day I spent with her was Valentine’s Day. I wish every girl could have an Aunt Mim in her life. I was lucky enough to have two in mine.”
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Valentine’s Day: For Granny, My First Love
Granny’s unconditional love was life-affirming. She was on my side. She was my first love. We never broke up; I was never disappointed by her, and she approved of me no matter what I did.
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Kathleen Collins — A Daughter Keeps Her Mother’s Artistic Legacy Alive
As I neared the age my mother was when she died, forty-six, I found myself finally ready to grapple with the themes that consumed her. I started to dig through the considerable archive of work she left behind. What I found blew me away.
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Sisters for Life: Common Problems That Persist Into Adulthood
Siblings are our longest-lived and often among the most complex relationships. No matter how old we are, the template of our early family stays with us throughout our lifetime.
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The Worst New Year’s Eve Ever
I have no memory of what Janie and I did before midnight, but I will never forget where we were when the clock struck twelve.
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The Wednesday Five
This year, several of our most popular articles addressed emotional issues within family relationships for which many of our readers who are spouses, partners, parents, and grandparents sought advice.
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A Christmas Gift From My Father
Today I look back with fondness on those Christmas displays my father spent so much time perfecting, though I can recall with astounding clarity that at the time I was mortified by the entire proceedings.
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Comfort and Joy: The Magic of an Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve
Hazelnut Viennese cakes, two kinds of pierogi, a 12-course Christmas Eve meal, midnight mass, kutia on the ceiling (and many other beloved traditions)—this Ukrainian/not-yet-American family Celebrated Christmas with a capital C.
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Christmases Past: Giving, Receiving—and Deception
I never admitted switching our gifts in Confession—but the memory of deceiving my sister over a shiny bauble has never faded away.
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December Renewal:The Day of the Little Candles
My partner and I have lit candles in the largest park in Bogotá, surrounded by hundreds of other families, lovers, and friends.
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