Love grows
Thanks so much to all of you for your recent comments about what it means to let a boyfriend or girlfriend step in and discipline. Your feedback has inspired some very LONG, thoughtful conversations between LG and me. This is good stuff! Your comments also encouraged more dialogue at the Boston Globe: writer Lylah Alphonse — a mom and step-mom to five kids — wrote her own post at Boston.com from the

When do I let my boyfriend discipline my kid?
“I never got around to being a father,” I overheard the Lucky Guy saying to some friends recently at a BBQ at his house. At that moment, I was coming around the corner with a big salad in my hands. Of course, I stopped mid-step to get the best possible chance at eavesdropping. “So, now,” he added, “I get

My triggers
When T wrote about her “triggers” in her current relationship, I got the chills. My ex was also an alcoholic, too. I’ve struggled with co-dependency — and events from my current relationship “often trigger the past,” as Love Coach Rinatta says it. Remember when I wrote about the night that Lucky Guy’s

I know you’ve been dying to see my boyfriend
One afternoon this summer, while hanging out with Depot Dad, his kids came up with a brilliant idea: “Let’s go to a yard sale!” My own kid loves a good bargain, so off we went. The pickings were very slim at the first yard sale — although Depot Dad’s daughter did get some mermaid swim paddles — but wait till you hear what we found at the second sale: Brand new Halloween costumes for $1. Oh, yeah. In that pile, we found a stewardess costume for yours truly. Then Mae — who’s a big Jack Black fan — spotted a Nacho Libre w

Another big deal
That Lucky Guy has been spending more time at our home lately. Fortunately, my sweet girl seems to like him a lot. She’s also very straightforward about when she’d like some space with her mother alone (i.e., “I want some Mama time today, okay?”) At the moment, I’m sitting here after picking up Mae up from school, just the two of us. I’ve made some Earl Grey tea and pre-heated the oven. The tomatoes for tonight’s pasta are waiting to be washed — yes, next to the dull pencils that need to be sharpened.