Oil Life, Happy Wife

I read an article yesterday about how our kids, teenagers especially, have outstanding scores in school but don't have any life skills. It recommended that we bring back a mandatory life skills class. I don't disagree with that. I think that's a great idea. I saw a bunch of comments about how parents now are lazy. Or they are helicopters that insist on doing everything so little Tommy doesn't have to lift a finger. Others said we are forcing our kids into academic servitude in an attempt to live vicariously through them at the school of our choice. I'd like to propose a different perspective. Many of us didn't have a typical upbringing through our teenage years. Some of us had to do everything in the home. All of the cooking, cleaning, the raising of siblings. Maybe we had a single parent who worked all the time or one who suffered from chronic disease, mental illness, or drug addiction.  Now those kids are raising kids and are trying desperately to let them enj

It's been a minute since I've been inspired to write anything. Summer for most people is a time for vacations, sun and friends. For me, it's a time to rest and recharge. We have so many things going on during the school year that time seems rushed. There's always somewhere to be and something to do. It's nice to slow down and just enjoy being at home with the people I care the most about. We read a ton of books and snuggle to watch movies. We play cards and board games for hours. But my writing cap has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust and it's time to pick it up for a minute to mark an impending milestone.  I'm turning 40 on Tuesday and honestly, it feels weird. How am I 40? I feel like a younger person trapped in this aging body. Like all the other people around me are genuine adults and I'm pretending to be one. Is this what our parents felt like at 40?  It really seemed like they had it more together. I guess their lives looked easy because w