Best of M.Blazoned
Gen Xers, Unite! Or Don’t. Whatever.
You’ve got to hand it to Gen Xers. We have been so ambivalent about everything we have finally been totally forgotten. I saw…
Seven Signs of the Aging Apocalypse
Locust? Famine? Floods? You wish. Nope. The Aging Apocalypse is not the end of the world, just the end of your youth. And…
The Wallet Years: The Worst Stage of Parenting?
There is much debate about the worst stage of parenting. Is it when they are newborns and don’t sleep? Is it when they…
Doing Time in Elementary School
This is my 13th consecutive year with a child in elementary school. It’s also, finally, my last. I’ve done my time and when…
The Legend of The Fourth of July in My Hometown
When I was growing up, July 4th was my favorite holiday. Forget the high holy days, or even the guaranteed full-size Snickers at…
The Hair Pulling Madness of the Campus Tour
I was a tour guide in college. I worked in admissions. I’ve consulted with students applying to college. I know campus tours. I…
The Beautiful Maddening Contradiction of Teenagers
I happen to love teenagers. Both the ones I’ve worked with for years and, most of the time, my own. I know, I…
Vacation Daddy
Something happens to my husband when we go on vacation. He turns into what we refer to as, Vacation Daddy. The normally sensible…
September is the Worst
Not to be totally paranoid, but I’m pretty sure September is trying to kill me. Forget December and the holiday madness, there is…
Cheating Death: 30 Years of Borrowed Time
We weren’t doing anything wrong. We weren’t drinking or doing drugs. We were good kids hanging out on the last night of summer….
45 Years Old Isn’t the "New" Anything
Turns out 45 years old is just 45 years old. An age that means you are old enough to not feel young anymore,…
Vacation or Trip? A Helpful Guide for Parents
So, you’re headed out on a family vacation this summer. Great news! But are you sure? Are you sure it’s a vacation? You…
Open Letter To My Kids About Summer
Hey Kids, Feel free to leave your stuff wherever you want this summer. Half drunk smoothies in the family room? No problem. I…
The Default Parent™
Are you the default parent? If you have to think about it, you’re not. You’d know. Trust me. The default parent is the…
The Modern Midlife Crisis
It’s not your parents’ midlife crisis. Hey, how’s your midlife crisis going? Mine’s great, thanks for asking. I can no longer read anything…
Gen Xers, Unite! Or Don’t. Whatever.
You’ve got to hand it to Gen Xers. We have been so ambivalent about everything we have finally been totally forgotten. I saw some nonsense poll on the news about generations and they had Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z….
Seven Signs of the Aging Apocalypse
Locust? Famine? Floods? You wish. Nope. The Aging Apocalypse is not the end of the world, just the end of your youth. And not just the gray hair, reading glasses, and overall crotchety demeanor you’ve been expecting. It’s far more…
The Wallet Years: The Worst Stage of Parenting?
There is much debate about the worst stage of parenting. Is it when they are newborns and don’t sleep? Is it when they are toddlers and you can’t leave them alone for a second? Perhaps all of those blurry elementary…
Doing Time in Elementary School
This is my 13th consecutive year with a child in elementary school. It’s also, finally, my last. I’ve done my time and when I get out on the other side, I won’t lie, I will be a changed woman. When…
The Legend of The Fourth of July in My Hometown
When I was growing up, July 4th was my favorite holiday. Forget the high holy days, or even the guaranteed full-size Snickers at that weird lady’s house down the street on Halloween. It was the Fourth of July I lived…
The Hair Pulling Madness of the Campus Tour
I was a tour guide in college. I worked in admissions. I’ve consulted with students applying to college. I know campus tours. I believe in campus tours. My advice has long been to take official campus tours. Get a feel…
The Beautiful Maddening Contradiction of Teenagers
I happen to love teenagers. Both the ones I’ve worked with for years and, most of the time, my own. I know, I know. I thought I was supposed to loathe them too. It’s confusing. But, my dirty little secret…
Vacation Daddy
Something happens to my husband when we go on vacation. He turns into what we refer to as, Vacation Daddy. The normally sensible guy who makes everyone in the family insane with his calculated overthinking on everything from how much…
September is the Worst
Not to be totally paranoid, but I’m pretty sure September is trying to kill me. Forget December and the holiday madness, there is something worse. It’s called, Back-to-School and it happens in September and every year I barely survive it….
Cheating Death: 30 Years of Borrowed Time
We weren’t doing anything wrong. We weren’t drinking or doing drugs. We were good kids hanging out on the last night of summer. But that Sunday night of Labor Day weekend 30 years ago ended in a way we never…
45 Years Old Isn’t the "New" Anything
Turns out 45 years old is just 45 years old. An age that means you are old enough to not feel young anymore, but not old enough to complain about it. It’s like the middle child of ages…no one is…
Vacation or Trip? A Helpful Guide for Parents
So, you’re headed out on a family vacation this summer. Great news! But are you sure? Are you sure it’s a vacation? You might want to think about that for a minute. Because a vacation is best described as time…
Open Letter To My Kids About Summer
Hey Kids, Feel free to leave your stuff wherever you want this summer. Half drunk smoothies in the family room? No problem. I got it. Socks in the hall. I’m on it. Dishes in the sink? Keep ’em coming. Legos?…
The Default Parent™
Are you the default parent? If you have to think about it, you’re not. You’d know. Trust me. The default parent is the one responsible for the emotional, physical and logistical needs of the children. Spoiler Alert: It’s typically the…
The Modern Midlife Crisis
It’s not your parents’ midlife crisis. Hey, how’s your midlife crisis going? Mine’s great, thanks for asking. I can no longer read anything on my phone, my teeth are cracking by the day, I question every decision I’ve made since…