Sometimes We Have to Find Out Who We Are NOT to Find Out Who We Are.

 Posted by Davis on November 4, 2010  General  32 Responses »
Nov 042010
 

Note: Eliot gave me her blessings to write and share this.

This weekend was a doozy. I was away doing a 3 Day / 3 Night in L.A. with a couple to help their little one sleep better while my ex (Ron) was across the country in Illinois. It always leaves me a little uneasy when one of us is not around but I left the girls with Joe (my significant other) who has 3 kids of his own so it was all good. I have the mother thing of micro managing from afar so when Eliot (my middle daughter) checked in with me to make sure it was okay that she go to a Halloween party and spend the night with her friend, I was okay with it.
Until the call…
It was midnight and my phone rang. I looked down and saw it was Henley (my oldest). Nothing good can come from a call at midnight. I took a deep breath, “Hello.”
This is what I heard, “I’m sorry Eliot, I have to tell her!”
Again, I said, “Hello.”
And this is the fun conversation that went on from there:
“Mom!”
“Yeah.”
“I’m driving Eliot home from a party and she is wasted and throwing up all over Katee’s car.

I was feeling helpless and remembering the time when I was a teenager and drank so much that I was on the golf course throwing up and making every possible deal with God that I could. I was furious with her, empathetic, and knowing this was a defining moment for her. 

Eliot was in the midst of experiencing who she is not to find out who she is. I told Henley to get her home and I would call Joe to give him the heads up. SIGH… Continue reading »

Farewell Friends

 Posted by Tracy on November 3, 2010  General  1 Response »
Nov 032010
 

With great sadness, I have decided to take a break from blogging on Single Parents Town so I can focus on finishing my first book which I hope to have done by years end.

Thank you to all who have allowed my thoughts and feelings to be expressed and heard. Blogging about my life as a single parent has been truly cathartic. It’s brought me even greater joy when I have received feedback that it has helped someone too.

It’s allowed me to capture the trials and tribulations that otherwise would of just stayed in my brain and helped me to see how much I’ve grown, the challenges I’ve faced and how I’ve overcome them and how funny and interesting my life really is. Continue reading »

Ghetto Fighting by Jennifer Maggio

 Posted by Jennifer on November 3, 2010  General  8 Responses »
Nov 032010
 

I know — the title got ya!  Well, for my 5 or 6 highly-refined, cultured readers, I must caution you.  You probably won’t have a clue where I’m going with this.  For the rest of you, enjoy!

As I travel and speak in different venues, I try to be very open and real with my audience.  Therefore, my stories are usually pretty uninhibited.  I am reminded this morning of one story in particular.

As I’ve shared often now, I didn’t come from money or refinement.  I wasn’t in Charm School learning how to cross my legs and smile ever-so-slightly, as my Southern gentleman swept me off my feet.  Quite the opposite. I grew up on a farm with dirt between my toes, picking peas and corn, and driving tractors.  My dad married a total of six times, and there was always drama! It wasn’t uncommon to hear of adult women at a basketball game duking it out or two high school girls cat-fighting over a boy.  In fact, in high school, I witnessed two girls getting stabbed, a gang fight breaking out, and a classmate getting his head pounded open, later needing stitches.  That was my life.  (Just wait……………………I’m going somewhere with this.) Continue reading »

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A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan – My Wife Talks Back

 Posted by Bruce on November 2, 2010  General  No Responses »
Nov 022010
 

No, I’m not writing about my wife talking back to me, but rather giving her a chance to speak her mind after all these columns in which I’ve spoken for her. To be fair (to me), I always run any column about her, by her, before publication. That doesn’t mean I make any changes, but at least she has seen it. Just kidding. I do make changes she requests. But, what I don’t do is “change” my behavior as much as she’d like. So, that will be some of the focus of this interview:

Me: So, honey, this is your chance to publicly clear the record, state your case, and have your voice heard (as a guest on my radio show, too), published, and otherwise represented. Where would you like to start?

Wife: Thank you dear, for the chance to correct all the misconceptions and complete inaccuracies you’ve written and talked about me. Continue reading »

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GUIDING YOUR CHILDREN TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY

 Posted by Patrick on November 1, 2010  General  No Responses »
Nov 012010
 

GUIDING YOUR CHILDREN TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY (helping them avoid that mid-life crisis)
Posted by PatrickTalley

Every once in a while, I’ve remind my kiddos I didn’t grow up as a little boy in southeast Houston dreaming of being a technology salesman. I had other dreams. I had dreams of being a national park ranger and spending my days and nights outside taking in some of nature’s greatest displays.

Hell, at one point I had dreams of being a professional football player. My path, since just after college, was to go the corporate route, and I’m okay with the “choices” I’ve made. I put the word “choice” in quotes because at the time, it wasn’t such a conscious choice. Hey, I’m good at what I do, and it’s afforded me a comfortable lifestyle. It’s afforded me free time and countless trips aboard and trips to those national and state parks to enjoy nature’s grandeur. It hasn’t, however, been a career choice that has had me living my passion. I have over time moved more and more of my energy into my passions – the outdoors, photography, and perhaps even the parenting book I wrote last year DIVORCED DADS’ RULES FOR RASINING RELATIVELY STABLE KIDS (available on amazon.com). Continue reading »

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