by Cathy Tompkins, MA | May 28, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
Tears 101 I’ve mentioned before the value of daily meditation. Well, this morning found me looking for a guided meditation that promised a less self-destructive dopamine hit than I’d been enjoying all week. I’ve been getting waaay too much this week by eating waaay...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | May 2, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
Whose Fault Is It? My 11-year-old granddaughter urgently asked me to take her to get two cocoas before she left for an event Saturday. Up here in Flagstaff, there were about 6 inches of snow on the ground. It was cold! When I declined to leave the warmth of my house...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Apr 9, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
WHERE DO I COME FROM? Call me Cathy. Cathy with a C, please. I have a vague memory that I was named after my dad’s former girlfriend. I was my mother’s 5th pregnancy, first live birth. I am my dad’s second born; a half sister was 6 years older. I had 3 younger...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Mar 12, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
Leaving the Nest: Adulting 101 I may have said this before, but just to be sure: being the parent of a teen wasn’t easy, but it paled in comparison to parenting a 20-plus-year-old. As long as they were living at home, I could tell myself that I knew they were safe at...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Feb 14, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
Parenting Older Teens I heard Alan Alda (of Mash fame) say that being a parent is like watching ea cheesy horror film. As you watch that teenager open the door to the spooky basement to investigate the source of a disconcerting noise, all you can really do is watch...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Jan 14, 2025 | Thoughts for Families
Kid Power 101 Last fall, I spent a week with a friend I hadn’t seen in 40 years. To my great relief, what we loved about each other as teens survived the ensuing years of our very different lives. As we each told stories to “catch up”, I realized that in spite of...
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