It’s okay to cry at high school graduation—unless you’re the Commencement Speaker

It’s okay to cry at high school graduation—unless you’re the Commencement Speaker

I can’t believe she’s a high school graduate.   After 18 years of late nights of studying, STEM projects and AP tests, thousands of hours of volleyball, uncountable laughs and tears, dozens of college essays, eight acceptance and rejection letters, and a whirlwind of graduation parties, my daughter just graduated from high school.   As…

Laurel, Yanny, and The One Secret That Can Solve Divisions and Save Any Relationship

Laurel, Yanny, and The One Secret That Can Solve Divisions and Save Any Relationship

So unless you were on Everest with no Wi-Fi access last week, you heard either “Laurel” or “Yanny” in the now-famous audio clip. And you probably got into an argument with a loved one about how they could possibly hear something different from you. Just as with the 2015 “blue/gold dress” image, Jeff and I…

2 Secrets to Communicating With Your Teenager

2 Secrets to Communicating With Your Teenager

“How was school?”  (Shrug.) “Fine.”  “What did you do?”  (Shrug.) “Nothing.”  “Anything fun happen today?” (Side eye. Sigh. And…Shrug.)  If this sounds familiar, join the club! Not only do I have two teenagers, but I’ve interviewed and surveyed about 3,000 of them for For Parents Only and other books, and discovered that the condition homo teenagesapiens silenticus…