by Shannon Popkin | Oct 1, 2012 | Communication, Discipline, Faith, Kids' Perspective, Love, Mistakes, Pain, Parenting, Teens, Wisdom
My friend’s son was a 9th grader when a girl suddenly began inserting herself into his life in a big way. She came to his games, invited herself over, sent him texts (lots of texts). She was everywhere. My friend became concerned by how much her son was enjoying...
by Shannon Popkin | Aug 6, 2012 | Faith, God, Sin, Wisdom
For Cole’s fifth birthday, we bought him a fish, which he named Goldfish. Goldfish has become legendary at our house, and we love to tell her ‘fish tales’ over and over. Though the story I’m going to tell today is the last story of...
by Shannon Popkin | Jul 26, 2012 | Communication, Mistakes, Problems, Wisdom
I stood back a couple of feet from the window, watching my husband, Ken, talk to our very unhappy looking neighbor. The man kept pointing to a strip of grass between our two houses. As the neighbor’s motions swept wider and his face got redder, my anxiety...
by Shannon Popkin | Jun 26, 2012 | Food, Funny, Wisdom
For this story to have full effect, you must understand that my mom is a fantastic cook. I am not exaggerating when I say that complete strangers have walked to me up and asked, “Are you Judie Berry’s daughter? She makes the best rolls in the...
by Shannon Popkin | Jun 14, 2012 | Parenting, Problems, Wisdom
“When would you like them to come? And do you need to be present when our guys get there?” she asked me over the phone. I had already paid for one service call, but the problem had only resolved momentarily. Now it was back.”Well, the sooner the...
by Shannon Popkin | May 14, 2012 | Faith, Family, Wisdom
Just a week before my friend, Angela, was to give birth to twins, her husband got a call before work. They told him not to bother coming in that day. They were laying him off. Without saying anything about it, he left the house as if he were going to work. Instead he...