Day 13 of Blogmas 2025, and we're past the halfway point of this December marathon. For those just joining, Blogmas is my annual commitment to posting holiday-themed content every single day through Christmas. This year's posts are prompted by AI, because apparently I needed help coming up with ways to write about Christmas. Today's prompt … Continue reading The Christmas We Sang from the Lawn: A Pandemic Memory
Family
The Rotating Tree and the Smell of Pipe Tobacco: Excavating My Earliest Christmas Memory
Welcome back to Blogmas 2025, day four of my annual December marathon where I post holiday-themed content every single day until Christmas. For those keeping track, yes, I'm still doing this to myself voluntarily. This year's twist is that I'm letting AI generate my daily prompts, because apparently I needed to add an element of … Continue reading The Rotating Tree and the Smell of Pipe Tobacco: Excavating My Earliest Christmas Memory
Question of the Week #461
As usual, this week's question comes from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions: Would you want to choose the sex of your child? What if you could safely pick other qualities: IQ, height, temperament, looks? Fair warning: If discussions of genetic engineering and the future of human reproduction make you uncomfortable, this might be a … Continue reading Question of the Week #461
The Healer’s Daughter
The fever had taken hold of Thomas three days ago, and Elisabeth knew with the certainty that comes from watching too many neighbors buried that her little brother was dying. She knelt beside his small form on the rough-hewn bed, pressing a damp cloth to his burning forehead. At eight years old, Thomas had always … Continue reading The Healer’s Daughter
Question of the Week #455
What if you were no longer fertile and could not otherwise have your own biological child? This week's question from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions follows naturally from last week's exploration of loss, identity, and genetic connections. While last week we grappled with the devastating reality of losing a child and the temptation to … Continue reading Question of the Week #455
Question of the Week #454
If your teenage son died in a freak accident, and you wanted another child, would you rather clone an identical twin of your dead son or try to have another child naturally? This week's question from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions ventures into territory that feels almost too sacred to explore—the devastating loss of … Continue reading Question of the Week #454
Exploring Family Dynamics in the World of Demigods
In the world of young adult literature, few authors have managed to weave together ancient mythology and contemporary family struggles as masterfully as Rick Riordan. Through his Camp Half-Blood Chronicles—spanning Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Trials of Apollo—Riordan has created a universe where teenage demigods navigate not just monsters … Continue reading Exploring Family Dynamics in the World of Demigods
Question of the Week #444
In this weekly series, I explore thought-provoking ethical dilemmas drawn from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. These questions have no easy answers—only personal truths we must each confront in our own way. This Week's Question Last week, we explored what you might do if you discovered your mother having an affair. This week, we … Continue reading Question of the Week #444
Question of the Week #443
In this weekly series, I explore thought-provoking ethical dilemmas drawn from Gregory Stock's The Book of Questions. These questions have no easy answers—only personal truths we must each confront in our own way. This Week's Question While out one day, you come upon your mother holding hands with someone who is obviously her lover. She … Continue reading Question of the Week #443
Question of the Week #435
In what ways will you treat your children differently from how your parents treated you? If you've already raised children and could do it again knowing what you know now, what would you change? The Legacy of Parenting It's fascinating how the question of parenting consistently evokes deep reflection, regardless of whether we have children … Continue reading Question of the Week #435
The Confusing Middle 