With a daughter in middle school, I am reminded daily that being 13 is the worst age to be, followed closely by 12, 14, and 15.  I’ve often said there isn’t enough money in the world to convince me to redo those awful years.

I see Elliott struggle with self-esteem, body image, and with social…

I pride myself on being a reasonably fashionable person.  I make an effort to keep my clothes up to date, my hair in style, and my makeup fresh.  So, it is with much angst that I have watched Elliott slip into the sloppy styles sported by her middle school friends.

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Well, not really.  But, today is the first day of school and this is how I am celebrating!!!

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Two more days until the girls go back to school.  Less than 48 hours in a summer that hasn’t been very much fun. 

It has been the summer of RADishes, a three month struggle to help our daughters maneuver through the trials of reactive attachment disorder.  At times, it has been a nightmare.

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The house is still.  The only noise I hear is the hum of the refrigerator.  I’m basking in the quiet and trying to make it last as long as I can.  Because…today is the last day of school.  A day I’ve been dreading more than a gynecological visit or a root canal.

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Last Friday was like any other day.  The girls came home on the bus.  They played outside until it started to get dark.  We were all tired from the long week so we decided to have pizza for dinner.  After dinner we watched a movie together, and then it was time for Hunter to go to bed.  She went to her room, put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth.  As she was leaning over to kiss us goodnight, I noticed something wrong.  She had bangs where she didn’t have them…

The other morning, I awoke to a cold, rainy day. I got the kids off to school and made the long commute to my office via the staircase. I sat at my desk, my coffee in my hands and my feet propped up, listening to the rain. It was a few minutes before 7:00a and it was still dark outside. I knew any motivation I might have to get dressed and go to the gym was slowly fading away. I needed to do something to cheer me up a little, and to keep me from commuting back to my bedroom and crawling…

Saturday was Elliott’s basketball tournament. We live in a small town, so her tournament was not an all day, all weekend kind of event. There were only four teams in her league with a single elimination tournament. Being from a small town, every team had at least one of Elliott’s best friends on the roster. Since the start of the season, I think she had played each team at least four times, so she kind of knew what she was up against.

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I am watching the great blizzard of 2011 raging outside my window. There is a fire in the fireplace, homemade salsa simmering on the stove, and a glass of Irish whiskey within reach. Life can’t get much better. I had nowhere I needed to be today, and I have an appointment tomorrow, but if I don’t make it, it’s OK.

School was closed today and it has already been cancelled for tomorrow. I don’t think the girls have gone to school for a full week since before Christmas. I am beginning to…

There were three things I promised myself I would never write about when I started my blog…first, I would never write about my mother…second, I would never write anything that would cost me a presidential election…and last, I would never write about sex.

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Author's Note: I wrote this post a few days ago and I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to post it...let alone to tired to stay up at night and post. So sorry for my absence this week. It is almost over. With that said, enjoy.

It looks…

I am a lawyer…kind of. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit I have never practiced. Not a day. It’s not because I couldn’t find a

job…I didn’t even look. It’s not

because I didn’t get good grades…United Missouri Bank (UMB) thought I had a

promising career in estate planning.

It’s because I wanted to be a lawyer…but I didn’t want to be a lawyer.…