My initial feeling when I sat down to watch the freshman season of Army Wives on DVD and the new episodes from its now-airing second season on Lifetime was one of guilt. I’ll admit that as much as I love news and politics, I don’t frequently think about the lives of the family members who sacrifice their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and siblings to the armed services in this time of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. more

This has been an historical election season; busting down barriers thought impossible only a few years ago.  From Hillary Clinton’s ovaries (yes, Hillary haters, she is a woman), Barack Obama’s bi-racial DNA and Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith to Mike Huckabee’s funny name, this has been perhaps the most colorful and inclusive American presidential campaign season ever.

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*A note from the author: Well, now I’ve gone and done it. I wrote this piece a few days ago, and was tinkering with it, when Amy Keroes, editor of Mommy Track’d, asked what my new topic was going to be. “Well, it’s a rant,” I said. Rather smugly, I’m sure. “About SUVs, and some other stuff.” And then she said, oh good, it would fit right in with Risa Green’s piece. Had I read Risa Green’s piece? more

I have eco-anxiety. In case you haven’t heard of it, Eco-Anxiety is the new, trendy neurosis that’s striking urban liberals at an alarming pace.  I first noticed the symptoms last year, after I watched An Inconvenient Truth.  I found myself fervently recycling, trading incandescent lightbulbs for CFLs, and shopping at farmer’s markets on a regular basis.  more

Joseph Burkett. Casey Aldridge. Gloucester High School boys. Arthur Dimmesdale. Do those names ring any bells? Think . . . where have you heard them before? Perhaps these names will help: Lara Logan, Jamie Lynn Spears, Gloucester High girls and Hester Prynne. more

Europe is having a baby crisis. The New York Times reported in a recent magazine cover story that fertility levels in Europe are at an all time low. This baby shortage has been called the “lowest-low fertility.” Given that the planet seems to be exploding, resources are tapped, and we’re all going to have to take out second mortgages more

I love the fourth of July. As far as holidays go, it’s my hands-down favorite. There’s no obligatory gift giving, no stressful family meals, no cards to be exchanged, no mile long to-do lists. It’s just beach, barbeque, booze and fire works. And really, what could be better than that? more

Working from home. In the summer. With three young, school-aged children in the house. Is making me crazy. Snacks, oh the requests for snacks. Non-stop, thanks to their school year schedule which had food going into their mouths every two hours or so . . . as if they’d perish without constant calorie intake (no wonder many American kids are becoming chubby). more

As I was walking through the halls of my son’s musty, empty school last week on the way to pick up his report card, I felt a strange, uncomfortable feeling. Something gnawed at me, but I couldn’t decipher it.  At first I thought it could be the familiar, end-of-the-year blues, that sad, yucky feeling I remember having when I graduated from high school and roamed the building in June; a bittersweet sense of finality. more

The school year has finally ended. Cubbies have been cleaned out, worn out backpacks have been thrown away, classrooms have been stripped bare, and a year’s worth of artwork, class projects, writing journals and worksheets have been sent home. more