I was always adamant when the boys were little that I wasn’t going to be one of those moms who always put the kids’ music on in the car. I mean, we had a couple of cassettes (YES, I SAID CASSETTES: my boys were little in the 90’s.) that were in the genre of Children’s Music–and by “a couple”, I literally mean “two”–but for the most part the soundtrack for our time in the car was made up of Top 40 radio and tunes from the 1980’s and early 1990’s. I figured that the boys would grow to like whatever music we listened to, and I was right. Of course,…
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The Bad Parent, Good Teenager Strategy In Action
The scene: My dining room, earlier this week The players: Seventeen-year-old J, me, and my sister J: “So, Tim* and Megan* want me and (girlfriend) Shannon* to go to this dance club with them on Saturday night.” Me: “Really? A DANCE CLUB? Like, for under twenty-ones?” J: “Yep.” I glanced across the table and raised my eyebrows at my sister. Me: “What is the name of this dance club?” J: “The Zone.**” Me: “And where is this ‘The Zone Dance Club’ that I’ve never heard of after twenty years of living in this Chicago suburb?” J: (shrugging shoulders) “I don’t know. They have a 17+ night on Saturdays. It starts…
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Leafing Another Era Behind…Gladly.
I hope you enjoy this month’s contribution to Hallmark’s “Life Is A Special Occasion” campaign! (Perhaps you should grab a cup of hot cider, and possibly a sedative. This post is about puberty.) I have found that I mentally divvy up the lives of both of my boys into neat little “eras”. It’s easier for me to keep the details of their respective childhood experiences straight if I can associate what I’m trying to remember with the circumstances of a specific period of time. Lucky for my tired brain, they have always been vastly different people and each of them have a unique set of eras, with only two exceptions.…
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Video Evidence Of A Magical Night
You may remember that, back in May, I co-produced a little ‘ole show here in Chicago called LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. It was something I had never done before, which was exciting enough, but the evening went off without a hitch and it was a little bit magical. Wait, no: it was VERY magical. You can check out my recap by clicking here. The videos from the evening (as well as videos from the other nine cities!) are finally up on YouTube, and I’d love for you to watch the show. Click here to be whisked away to the Chicago playlist, which will allow you to watch the show in…
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DJ J, Revisited
It’s interesting how life works. While contemplating how my life has taken some pretty cool twists and turns over the past couple of years, I have discovered that often we end up doing things we never set out to do, ever. These new activities, pastimes, or even career changes come in the form of a natural progression, sometimes when you least expect it and often before you realize it. As it turns out, I’m not the only one in our house experiencing this sort of thing. I have written before about how J, my 17-year-old guitar-loving son who has always had a wide range of musical interests thanks to his…