Our Montville

A Lasting Resolution for the New Year

If you look in the dictionary, one of the definitions of the word resolution is “a resolve or determination: a firm resolution resulting in a significant change.”  People tend to make all of these earth-shattering declarations to march into the New Year and change life as we know it.  There are various and sundry clichés thrown around with people announcing their intentions to find a new job, spend less money, or the most feared of all, start a new diet and exercise program!

The media barrages us with a plethora of new and wonderful products that will magically help us reach our goals with little or no effort.  The get rich, thin and successful gimmicks that cost a fortune, but this time promise to really work! 

Bullying as True Drama

The suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, the 14-year-old boy from western New York who killed himself last Sunday after being tormented by his classmates for being gay, is appalling. His story is a classic case of bullying: he was aggressively and repeatedly victimized. Horrific episodes like this have sparked conversations about cyberbullying and created immense pressure on regulators and educators to do something, anything, to make it stop. Yet in the rush to find a solution, adults are failing to recognize how their conversations about bullying are often misaligned with youth narratives. Adults need to start paying attention to the language of youth if they want antibullying interventions to succeed.  Continue reading New York Times

The Road Paved with Good Intentions

Today, my lovely daughter turned 17, and yes, got her driver’s license.  As a parent, it is one of those bittersweet moments that we celebrate and dread at the same time.  The “rights of passage” for our children are tricky for all of us to accept.  There is that fine line between allowing your child some independence and instilling just the right amount of fear into to their naïve minds.

When I am driving around town or on the highways, I cannot help but notice how much more driving has become a source of stress.  Long gone are the days of taking a nice relaxing road trip to unwind.  It was then that I wanted to appeal to the adults out there that we need to keep in mind that not only are our own children on the road, but someone else’s child is too!! 

Family Fun Can be Affordable

Perhaps with the growing concerns of the economy, one of the good things that will hopefully come out of it is, families will spend more quality-time together.  Pooling resources and ideas of doing things that don't cost as much and yes, using our imaginations!  You know, like we were kids and were entertained by the simple things in life.  The long-hot-summer days where we never seemed to have enough time to do all the things that were so much fun and didn't cost a thing.

Maybe it's time for us to bring back some old family traditions and create new ones as well.  In our house, we have always enjoyed family-fun night.  Every Friday, when my children were younger, we would choose a favorite menu and cook together.  It was then followed up with a sleep-over in our living room. There were occasions when we would set up a tent, either outside or inside, depending on the weather. Lots of board games were played, and books were passed around, with each person reading in a different character's voice. Even though my children are both teenagers now, we still love our family nights together. It has formed such a strong bond between us, and they tell me they want to do the same for their families some day.