Most of us gossip without giving it any thought whatsoever.  Yet, its effects can be so damaging and full of impact.  Our kids face this sort of thing in high school in ways we couldn’t have imagined long ago.  With the advent of instant communications, whether it is instant messaging, tweeting, or immediate photos and [...]

I think the hardest lesson for me in becoming a parent was learning to let go of my expectations for my sons.  Okay, I’ll be completely honest; I’ve only been able to partially let go of them.  I think it’s impossible not to have some wishes for our kids, but the focus here is really [...]

A recent visit to an old friend’s beautiful new home triggered a brief moment of envy for me.  While I was extremely happy and proud of his accomplishment in creating such a lovely home, with so much care and detail, I also found myself longing for something similar in my life, instead of the present [...]

Remembering Chevy Chase in those summer vacation movies reminds me of the fact that most so-called “family vacations” are, at best, vacations for the kids and torture for the parents. I’m generalizing, of course, but most generalizations as well as clichés, have a strong basis in truth. I stand by the proposition that we parents [...]

How much stress can a new relationship survive?  I am fond of quoting the cliché that most of us would rather keep our own problems vs. trade with someone else.  Yet, lately, I wonder.  Okay, I’ll keep our troubles, but it does raise the notion of enough is enough.  I just had a ski accident [...]

Before I begin this somewhat unconventional column, let me invite any CVM visitors to find me on Facebook.  Please when you ask for be my friend, reference you know me from here.  I hope to see you there.  Now, for this week's column: No, I'm not writing about the movie or its wonderful music. Instead, [...]

What an interesting contemporary question: will our kids ever leave?  I left home at sixteen to go away to college and never returned, except for visits.  I stayed close to my parents, and they did help me financially through college, though I worked every summer to supplement my education expenses and pay for my own [...]

When I got separated and then divorced six years ago, the world of dating had gone through a change.  Internet dating was well underway and the quaint idea of friends introducing you to other friends seemed to have gone the way of the horse and buggy.  There were still bars and clubs, but those options [...]

(With apologies to Traci, whose earlier post almost has the same title, I actually wrote this before I even saw her  post.  As I love her writing, I would NEVER borrow from her, but I don't think we can honor this song and Gershwin enough) My new Web site is UP! Please check it out at: brucesallan.com. [...]

Okay, I admit this is a tearjerker, but I hope you enjoy.  Don't forget to check out my other blogs at momlogic.com where I write an original one each week.  Just go to bloggers and scroll to my name.  Any comments added are much appreciated.  My new Web site is UP!  Please check it out:  brucesallan.com. [...]