From the Courtroom to the Playroom

From the movie Rob Roy : Son: Father, will the MacGregors ever be kings again? Rob Roy: All men with honor are kings, but not all kings have honor. Son : What is honor? Rob Roy: Honor is....what no man can give you, and what no man can take away. Honor is a man's gift to himself. Son: Do women have it? Rob Roy : Women are the heart of honor, and we cherish and protect it in them. You must never mistreat a women or malign a man. Or stand by and see another do so. Son : How do you know you have it? Rob Roy : Never worry on the getting of it. It grows in you and speaks to you. All you need to do is listen. I read this movie quote recently in a book for mothers about how to raise men of character. One aspect of doing this is raising a son who knows how to treat women right and is (dare I say it) chivalrous. Let's face it - chivalry is pretty much dead among the younger male set in this country. I'll spare you my personal opinion on why. Not long ago, my husband a...

I think I have pinpointed one of the more difficult things for me to deal with in the transition to staying at home. It's noise. When I was working, although I had a lot of interaction with co-workers and clients, there was a significant portion of my day that was spent in my office, often with door shut, just researching and writing. In silence. In dear, sweet, wonderful silence. I am learning that silence is a rarity around my house being a stay at home mom. The first thing I hear every morning is the sweet voice of my now 3 year old Deacon saying, "Mama, what are we doing today?" Yes, he ultimately ends up sleeping in our bed every night. Sigh. Don't judge. Anywho, from that first question of the day, we launch into countless hours of conversation punctuated by frequent "whys" and extraordinarily loud renditions of the ABC song. It clearly takes a special person to work with preschoolers and very young elementary kids day in and day out. I am certainl...