Dear son or daughter:
I take care of your mom. She lives at the end of the hall and has flowers on her door and peppermints in a dish by her chair. She is here in the nursing home because her health is failing.
It has been failing for a long time now, but I understand how hard it was to accept that her falls at home were not just because she was “getting clumsy,” as she said. Her increasing confusion over conversations you had with her was not just because she simply “forgot” or “wasn’t paying attention.”
I recognize your feelings of guilt that she is here after telling her years ago you’d never “put her in a home.” And the mixed emotions you have toward your siblings, who aren’t convinced she needs to be “institutionalized” but also don’t live nearby and haven’t experienced the...
Lifestyle
Dear Grown-Ups,
I’m confused. Sometimes adults tell me that I’ve done something really creative, and that my unique thoughts might help solve the world’s problems. But often you say other things about me, like I’m a dreamer and I have a hard time paying attention, or that I need to apply myself. When you say these things, I’m not sure what you mean because I see myself differently. But when I hear the comments so often, I start to doubt myself, too. So I’m writing this letter to give you my responses to the things that adults say, and to share a few ideas about how you might be able to help me be my best self at home and at school. “He’s smart, he’s just acting lazy.” Have you seen me on the floor of my room, building intricate creations with Lego bricks? Or in the garage,...
2,361
Dear Fellow Mom at the Playground,
Please stop.
Oh, I know you mean well. You’re trying to be a good mom. In fact, you are a good mom. That’s the problem. Your enthusiasm is killing my buzz. See, I’m a mother, too, at the very same park with my 4-year-old, but I’m here to stop mothering. The playground has a gate, and the asphalt is covered with rubber mats. If I can’t turn on my iPhone and tune out here, I don’t want to live.
Don’t mistake my disinterest for neglect. If my son really hurts himself, I will be the second person to jump off the bench. (The first will be whoever taps me on the shoulder and says, “Is that your son bleeding by the swings?”) Until then, I’m getting work done: e-mailing, posting on Twitter. And look at all these podcasts in my queue — all those Marc...
6,270
Dear G7 leaders,
Today marks the first day of the G7 summit. In a few hours’ time, you will get together and have the chance to make this meeting a historical one for the world’s most vulnerable children.
I have been sitting at the G7 media summit in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria amongst my wonderful World Vision colleagues for a few days now. Work is full on...policy briefs, last minute checks and media advisories’; connecting with journalists...everything goes.
The conversation always turns to 'if G7 is still relevant’ or applicable in the 21st century with divided opinions.
Did you know that during the two days of this G7 summit, 34,000 children will die from preventable causes? That means, every day, 17,000 children continue to die from diseases like pneumonia,...
2,185
To my sweet and full-of-life middle child,
middle childI worry about all my children, I am a natural born worrier. However, there is one child I worry about the most, and that is you, my precious middle child. Are you happy? Are you getting enough attention? Am I doing a good enough job as your mother? Am I meeting all of your needs?
The minute your younger brother made his grand entrance into our family, you knew that your role in the family was changing. You did great when we first brought the baby home, you showered him with love. However, now that he is more mobile I notice that some days you give him hugs that are a little too tight, and your play with him becomes a little too aggressive as you struggle with this new emotion called jealousy.
I can see your frustration as you...
3,454
Dear Drake,
Hey dude. You don’t know me but my name’s Tyler and everyone says I’m a real shit, which I take as a compliment!
I’m writing to you not just because I love your raps. (I do, though. My mom tells me I can’t listen to music with swears but that just makes me want to listen to it more, you know? She’s kind of a shit-ass.) Mainly I’m writing to you because I’m about to enter junior high this fall and I wanna thank you for inspiring me to be a better bully as I enter this new stage of schooling.
I used to think you were probably lame because I knew you were on Degrassi which is a show for girls/Canadians, but this beef you are having with Meek Mill has taught me you are actually a professional-level bully. Here are some things you’ve done recently that I found really...
2,359
Dear Future Baby,
I'm writing this to you as a sort of declaration of the kind of person I'm going to be in your life. I'm only 21 now so in some respects, I'm a kid myself. That's what makes this letter all the more strange since I'm 21 and single, writing to my future children. Don't worry, you'll surely inherit this weird way of thinking, and I'll take full responsibility. That being said, it is definitely time for me to be mapping out the man I hope to become for you and for myself. In my life, I've learned how a man loves and cares for his family from my dad, your grandpa. He's taught me to work hard at whatever it is I want, cultivate passion in life, and to communicate honestly. I've also learned what a man does not do, such as abandoning his family or putting his own needs and...
2,163
My dearest darling child.
I am writing this letter to you as a permanent reminder of how wonderful you are, and to tell you that no matter what happens, you will always shine. I say this not just as your mom, but because of how much you have enriched all our lives and how you will go on to enrich the lives of others you are yet to meet.
Things you have struggled with have become my struggles, while all the wonderful things you accomplished in your short life so far have brought me more joy than anything I could have ever imagined. When I look into your eyes, I see such hope for humanity, and for the type of world we should all live in.
A world filled with kindness for everything and everyone, whether it is a smile, a simple gesture or simply being there. This is what you bring to...
2,233
Ms. Danielson,
I read that you find Caitlyn Jenner’s claim to identify as a “woman” disengenuous, uneducated, and honestly, quite offensive.”
[click here for reading Emilee's Open Letter https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203882476055502...
3,019
Dear Mr. Lynton
This week marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, which took place in southwestern Belgium in December of 1944. As you may recall, the Nazis launched an all-out offensive on vastly outnumbered and unprepared American and Allied forces, as they attempted to split the Allied lines in two. The Germans were clearly getting the better of it, and the Wehrmacht High Command, under the direct orders of Der Führer himself, dispatched two senior officers to the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division, commanded by then-Brigadier General Anthony “Tony” McAuliffe, demanding he and his troops surrender to the Nazis.
McAuliffe gave the Germans the following answer:
TO THE GERMAN COMMANDER
NUTS
THE AMERICAN COMMANDER
The Germans, puzzled, asked what “...
2,674