Category: Parenting

historic postcard image of the Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC
Aging, Chef David, Descriptive Writing, Dogs, Essays, Family, Home, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Parenting, Reflections, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Storytelling, The South, Writing

Reflection: Can We at Least Finish This Thing?

Over the course of the long holiday weekend I have fairly devoured this novel by Catherine Newman, whose main character and plot resonate with me in 10,000 kinds of ways. The setting for her story is a favorite summer vacation rental on Cape Cod where the protagonist-narrator, a menopausal mom, has returned for a week (the standard annual stay) with her husband and now-grown children, … Continue reading Reflection: Can We at Least Finish This Thing?

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Communicating, Essays, Family, Journaling, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Storytelling, The South, Writing

Reflection: Siblings

During my early elementary school years in Memphis, Tennessee, seems like every child around me showed up to class at one point or another grinning ear to ear, eager to announce the arrival of a new infant sibling in the house. Then on a special afternoon that kid’s mama would step into our cinder-brick public school classroom holding the swaddled infant whilst the older brother … Continue reading Reflection: Siblings

Unknown's avatarDeb GermanLeave a comment
Chef David, Essays, Family, Great-Grandmother Gracie, Home, Knoxville, Tennessee, Marriage, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Reflections, The South, Writing

Through the Lens: A Rare Glimpse Into an Old Version of Me

I read a quote recently that goes something like, people who knew the older version of you would not recognize who you are now. This might be true, although I believe a person’s essence never changes, and by that I mean, warts tend to hang around—but so does what’s good in each of us, I think, and the good can even blossom if we let … Continue reading Through the Lens: A Rare Glimpse Into an Old Version of Me

Unknown's avatarDeb German2 Comments
Aging, Chef David, Communicating, Dogs, Essays, Family, Food, Home, Journaling, Knoxville, Tennessee, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Reflections, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, The South, Travel

Reflection: A Father’s Day Gift

It is Monday, the first full day in my week-long visit to Dad’s place down in Chattanooga, to his comfortable house in the suburbs (more properly in Ringgold, just over the Georgia state line) he shares with Sheryl, his lovely wife of many years. These travel plans have been in the works since way back in the fall; Sheryl and her two daughters who straddle … Continue reading Reflection: A Father’s Day Gift

Unknown's avatarDeb German5 Comments
Essays, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Reflections, Writing

Reflection: ‘Fair’ Is Often Fair Enough

Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need. Rick Riordan It is a crisp November afternoon in mid-1970s Memphis and my younger brother is turning seven; several pint-sized partygoers will soon arrive at our modest suburban home to help him celebrate. They’ll step inside the back door into our game room, once a carport, but thanks to a … Continue reading Reflection: ‘Fair’ Is Often Fair Enough

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Descriptive Writing, Essays, Home, Journaling, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Writing

Reflection: Getting Parenting Right, in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times

I pass a road called Rosa Parks Lane each morning on my way to work. It’s unpaved and does not look like much from the major north-south artery in Wilmington that serves it. Driving past it, were you to turn your head and glance, you’d see the characteristically flat, scrubby, sandy landscape that defines coastal North Carolina, offset by clumps of Loblolly pines with their … Continue reading Reflection: Getting Parenting Right, in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Essays, Great-Grandmother Gracie, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Reflections

Reflection: Babies Are the Best

But parenting is the most difficult of all jobs. A coworker and his wife welcomed their first child into the world a couple of weeks ago. I love infant humans the most, I told him. They still smell sweet, they’re completely helpless, they’re immobile so they can’t destroy stuff in your house yet, and it’ll be a while before they can talk back. I suggested … Continue reading Reflection: Babies Are the Best

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment