592. No, Virginia

We all know and/or are adults who have lots of trouble reading maps. Of course, there are many maps that are incorrect, but there are also correct maps that are unfairly blamed for people getting lost or ending up taking longer to get where they’re going. I am fascinated by maps. I ask for window…

When two children are about the same age, there can sometimes be a bond between them. That bond can feel like the best of sibling bonds. In fact, it can conflict with real family ties – sometimes quite dramatically. A child may love her/his little sister or brother, and the two may play together pretty…

I have to admit that some holidays make me miss family life. During most of the year, I’m glad to be free and alone, welcoming visitors when they show up, but knowing that they’re only visitors, and I’ll soon be free again to do whatever I feel like doing, not having to answer to anybody….

Sometimes, when you’re travelling a long distance in a car, or have some other reason to need some silence and peace, there are children with you who do not feel at all peaceful, and do not feel that silence would be an effective way to express what they’re feeling. It’s important for children to know…

Most people are pretty used to repeating what they’ve said if someone says, “What?”, “Huh?”, or more politely, “Excuse me?” They forgive listeners if it’s their fault that they didn’t hear, and they leave room for the possibility that the message wasn’t spoken clearly. It’s often simpler to just repeat a message than to make…

We aren’t supposed to teach people younger than us to be us. Not that we could, anyway, but it would be good to be aware both that we can’t and that we shouldn’t try to. We can let them know what’s important to us, and hope that whatever is becomes important to them, too, but…