Sandbox Press: Connecting Sussex Families

On a chilly Sunday afternoon this fall, my husband and I packed up the SUV, gathered our children and headed south for a much-needed family vacation. After months of waking up early each day to a packed schedule of household chores, schoolwork, soccer practices and games, meetings, and special events, we were all ready to hibernate for a few days.

To rise to the sound of our daughter’s laughter, rather than an alarm clock, was so refreshing. We spent hours bobbing up and down in rafts…

I remember sitting in the cafeteria at college and watching the three-year-old son of the resident director. He was glued to the toaster and jumped up and down with uncontrolled excitement when the toast finally reached the end of the belt, dropped suddenly, and slid out. It was so cute that college students were lining up to make toast just to see his reaction again. That scene reminds me to take delight in simple things. Somewhere in the course of years, however, a child’s fascination with…

Just when you think you have your home perfectly childproofed, Christmas comes along and you have to worry about wobbly trees, tiny lights, and enticing ornaments. So you leave the bottom branches bare and block the Christmas tree off with the coffee table. You put the breakable decorations up high and hope for the best. It’s pretty easy to walk into a home at Christmastime and know that small children live there. The house is decorated, but the special holiday objects are safely out of…

As December arrives, our minds are filled constantly with the echoes of many tasks and the fast-paced, chatter-filled world. It’s no secret that there are countless hours of gift shopping, decorating, wrapping, and get-togethers filling our calendars.

We can forget to take care of ourselves as we spend many hours taking care of others! Give yourself some “me time.” There are ways to relax that may appeal to each of us differently. In general, relaxation techniques involve focusing our…