Connor, I wrote the first version of this letter when you were five years old. As you approach your 13th birthday and edge closer and closer to high school, I can’t help but think you’re growing up too fast. While life has certainly challenged us in ways none of us could have ever imagined over the last few years, I have no doubt that you will succeed in anything you choose to do in life. As a father, there’s something special about having a son. Of course I love your sisters as much as you, but it’s different. They are […]

Georgetown, Massachusetts It’s now mid-August and the nights have turned cooler; many of the leaves have turned a darker shade of green and have a more rugged and coarse texture. I don’t seem to have to cut the lawn as much and the chipmunks and squirrels seem to be less active. Vacations are winding down as we approach Labor Day weekend and parents, like myself, have started to complain about our kids going back before the holiday. Just seems wrong I guess but I get it. We bought the kids new backpacks yesterday, lunch bags, and of course the shiny […]

Many years ago, I watched my son experience, for the first time, the evolution of that first best friend. It was something beautiful to watch and it brought me back to when I was a kid experiencing the same feelings. We never forget how awesome that first friend was. We never forget how invincible we felt when we were together. The laughs, the tears, the hard times, the fun times. They are often the best memories of our childhood. But life complicates, as usual. We quickly realize that growing up is hard – and real friendships are hard to find. […]

It would be hard to find someone that doesn’t love music or say that it has not influenced their life in some way. We all are certainly no different. And as parents, it was inevitable that the musical influences with which we grew up would be shared with our children as well. For many of us, music has had an enormous impact and influence on our lives. There were the songs that got us through that first break-up and the loss we felt the first time someone close to us died. There were the songs that made us dance and […]

When I first became a dad, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing or what I was in for. In fact, there are some who would argue I’m not in a better place now after 7 1/2 years either but that’s another story altogether and for another time. Having your first child (or children in my case) is as overwhelming as it is exciting. There is no rule or instruction book that comes with each baby. And while most of parenting comes from trial and error and is customized to each wonderfully unique baby, there are some things […]

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates Change. Some of us embrace it while others fear it. Change comes easily for some but for others, it’s a slow and painful process. Kids do better with change. More importantly, kids want to and believe they can change the world. I recently asked a group of kids the following: If you could DO anything in the world right now, what would it be? If you could CHANGE anything in the world, what would that be? Their responses were insightful and heartfelt (and often […]

For most of my life, I’ve almost always had a dog, cat, or both. In fact, when there isn’t an animal around, I can’t help but feel that something is missing. All animals, but in particular dogs, hold a special place in my heart. Over the years, they have taught me about love, compassion, forgiveness, loyalty, and the finer art of stick fetching. In truth, they have taught me to be a better person overall and now, as a parent, I recognize even more ways how our four-legged friends enrich the lives of my children. I would even suggest that […]

Last weekend, the long weekend, my wife and I had the unique opportunity to escape for a few days alone – sans children. Of course it’s always hard to leave your kids for any period of time as you perpetually worry about them but sometimes you just need to re-charge the batteries and remember ‘your everything.’ We were only going to be gone for two nights/3 days but we still needed to pack up two cars to get 3 kids, 2 adults, 1 dog, 5 suitcases, toys, stuffed animals, pillows, dog food, and a dog bed over to Nannie and Grandpa Bob’s […]

Being a parent is a without a doubt a precious gift but it’s also the most difficult job I’ve ever had. In particular, these past few months have been enormously stressful for my wife and me, as we’ve again been presented with some of life’s parenting challenges. Sometimes we can control our destiny but other times, we have to rely on our instincts and hard work to pull us through. Lately, it’s been a little of both for us. As many of you know, we first were faced with what all parents fear the most: an injured child. Luckily for […]