It was testing week in karate and, as usual, Big Guy was under the gun. Not as much as he used to be, when he didn’t have a clue and had to frantically cram, but …

I knew Big Guy had to be getting better because his belt kept changing colors but I’ll be honest: I hadn’t really noticed.
Despite sitting through almost three  years of the guys’ karate lessons, I still  …

You remember the sweet little baby he used to be, and you wonder how it all went sideways.
You tried to raise him right – before he was born you ordered a onsie from your favorite …

Big Guy had just gotten his little butt beaten badly, but he’d come up grinning so it was safe to broach the subject.
“So what did you learn today?” I asked. It’s my standard question when …

When Daphine was a girl, red shoes were forbidden – only “loose women” wore them, she was told.
As a result, as soon as she got her first job she took part of her first paycheck …

Big Guy’s latest trophy is by far his most impressive, though he didn’t grasp that right away. He did notice that it’s the biggest award in a collection that already borders on obscenely large, but …

Big Guy survived his BFF’s move last spring, and the relationship continues to thrive thanks to unlimited long distance and Skype. He teetered last week, though, when another friend – the first he’d made here …

In the past year in a half, Big Guy has had a cast on his arm, an Ace on his ankle and, now, an arm in a sling. The causes were monkey bars, tripping at …

Big Guy will watch “GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra” repeatedly and not be bothered a bit. He didn’t flinch during any “Harry Potter” one through four, though he did think “The Goblet of Fire” …

Just look at those knees, an older man proclaimed the other day at the barbershop as we waited for the guys’ semi-annual shearing. You can tell he’s active, he nodded approvingly. Those are a boy’s …

Mommy I have a goal, Big Guy announced last week.
What is it, I asked, fearing the answer would involve violence and mayhem performed upon his brother.
I want to be a brown belt by this time …

I am thankful for my family. We are getting a turkey. I am also thanking for after this is Christmas. Thanksgiving is my third favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is the most thankful holiday.

It’s hard to keep track of the loveys without a scorecard these days.
There’s the always-present El – er, make that the “mostly present” El. Boots’ beloved but tattered friend did leave a few weeks ago …

I hadn’t planned on carving a pumpkin this year. I just wasn’t up to it.
And no, this isn’t another one of those grating “waah, he’s not here on special days” whines, though pumpkin carving is …

Mom, why do they call it a “girlfriend”? Big Guy asked. Doesn’t that mean you kiss and date and that stuff? Why can’t I have a girl who’s a friend?
I have no idea why they …

For years I’ve fantasized about kids being sick in bed – as opposed to sick kids who still fly through the house at warp speed.
I wondered when the day would arrive that they’d learn …

I don’t pay for grades, despite some scant evidence that it can work in some situations.
I don’t pay for goals – that would counteract the “you’re part of a team” message I’m trying to drum …

It’s not so much the academics, though the weekly spelling list now is 20 instead of 12 and the words are harder for Big Guy to wrap his head around.
“Witch? That’s not W-I-T-C-H, because I …

Wear shoes that you can run in on Monday, Big Guy’s soccer coach told me late last week. The parents are going to play the kids during practice.
Me? I asked with mock shock. Oh, I …

Editor’s note: Clearly, I am failing Big Guy educationally. He took his imaginary dog to an American League baseball game? Unacceptable. We must watch more National League ball before he starts to think the designated …

How can the kid who can’t find his shoes in the morning lock his eyes onto a soccer ball as if they were guided by a laser?
Why is it that the boy who routinely turns …

I’m not sure if Big Guy was being cunning or air-headed when he came to the Book Fair room where I was volunteering at school earlier this week and said he’s lost his lunchbox. “I …

When Big Guy was a toddler Elmo always was there for him – on his second birthday cake, on his Halloween costumes, on “Sesame Street” as Mommy fed That Baby Who Ruined His Life.
In recent …

So did you learn anything during sparring today, I asked Big Guy after karate class.
“No, not really,” Big Guy replied.
He was lying through his mouth guard.
He’d gone up against The Girl again. The Girl who …

He hates “Wonder Pets” but will concede to occasionally watching “Max and Ruby.” He admires Max’s sneaky ways and rails that Ruby is a control freak, which is ironic given that he’s one of the …

Given that Big Guy was fearlessly toddling to the top of tall structures by the time he was 14-months-old, I’ve long known that the day would come when he would surpass me athletically.
I didn’t expect …

There are teams, and then there are teams.
I grew up a Cincinnati fan, so the Big Red Machine era, of course, is one of my favorites in sports. But the 1990 Reds, who swept the …

There are two gray plastic bins in the garage, each roughly 2x2x2. I bought them several years ago, to preserve the guys’ keepsakes. Important stuff such as the first outfits they wore and their first …