Posts Tagged ‘family’
Thanksgiving: It’s All in the Family
Turkey Day! Ahhh. A much needed break that I am looking forward to, especially since I feel like my little family, now expanded by a new granddaughter, has so much to be thankful for. But I recently read an iVillage poll which found that 65 percent of all respondents are expecting some sort of family disagreement to break out before dessert is served on Thanksgiving Day.
And the disagreements aren’t usually about whether to serve pecan or pumpkin pie. For a lot of you, Thanksgiving has become that oh-so-unhappy day during which everyone gathers to carve up a lot more than the turkey. A sister might just happen to mention to another sister that it looks as if she’s gaining weight, and a mother-in-law might say something just slightly sarcastic about her son-in-law’s choice of careers. And then there is always Uncle Harry who drinks more than he eats, and starts flapping his big fat mouth, and tells embarrassing stories about his brother’s first marriage, or at some point, an overly-sensitive niece will break into tears because someone will ask her point-blank if she is EVER going to “catch” a husband! (more…)
The Last Day of Your Life …
What would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live? On Friday’s show, Megan says she’s already living as though it were her last day, traveling through all 50 states in an RV. This amazing young lady quit her job and left her boyfriend and loved ones behind to raise money and awareness for brain aneurysm research. Megan says she’s doing all this to honor her father, who died from a brain aneurysm when she was 11.
So how would you spend the last day of your life? I know where I’d be — right here, surrounded by family.
The True Meaning of Christmas
So the other day, I heard one more talking-head television commentator announce that Christmas isn’t like it used to be, that the economy is still tough, and that everyone is cutting back, trying to do more with much less. Gee, I said, thanks for pointing that out, because without your clarification, parents across America wouldn’t have noticed.
On reflection, what I really thought was, “Wait a minute. We don’t want to pronounce the Christmas holiday DOA or even seriously wounded because we have less to spend this year. Have we forgotten that this is the time of year when less is supposed to be more?” (more…)
Shaping Your Kids
After posting a blog item about how Robin and I raised our sons believing that they should be able to make their own choices, I got a call from a friend who said, “Yeah, Phil, but what if you can clearly see things that worry you? After all, you have often said their brains aren’t even finished growing until years later. What do you do then?” He went on to tell me about his 13-year-old daughter who, a few nights earlier, had drained a glass of milk at dinner and said with a proud grin, “Hey, Dad, I’m learning to chug.”
“It’s not the first time I’ve gotten the feeling that she wants to try alcohol or at least has it in her mind,” he told me. “So what do I do, right now, to keep her from gaining momentum toward a bad life choice?”
Good question! So, as a parent, what should you do when you see early warning signs that your child might be headed down the wrong path?
Thanksgiving at the McGraws
I, for one, love calling a timeout in November so that I can not only reflect on my many blessings but also say my thank-yous. It is a very relaxed family day at the McGraws that starts around noon as people begin to arrive.
I always get up early on Thanksgiving Day and head off to play tennis. I figure I’ll get in a good work out so I can pig out without feeling too bad about it! By the time I get home, Robin has the house buzzing! She always has the house fully decorated for Christmas by Thanksgiving Day, and she will have Christmas music playing inside and out. Every television in the house will be tuned to a football game (one of my long-standing traditions). Football and Christmas music: Who could ask for more?
