People attribute baseball’s decline to a variety of things: the (supposed) slow pace of the game, the increasing need for costly specialization (having the best bat, glove, etc.), and better efforts behind other youth sports organizations to recruit young players. But if we look at what has always made baseball special, especially in Little League, it becomes clear that baseball’s decline actually mirrors a shift in more general American values.
Read moreMilitary Widow Reflects on Parenting Alone
“Eight months have passed since my husband was killed in the Red Sea. Landon was not killed by enemy fire, nor as a result of a mechanical failure. He was killed as he sat in his helicopter, rotors spinning and chained to the deck of a ship that was going too fast in high seas. A large wall of water hit the side of ship, shot up, and crashed onto the helicopter, causing it to break apart and eventually go over the side with both pilots still strapped in their seats.
Read moreA Score Worth Keeping
Little League Baseball Team. Photo: Sarah Smiley
Lindell and his team arrived at their usual field and didn’t see the coaches. Some of us parents wondered if we had gotten the date or time wrong. Then the kids peered over the Little League fence, curtained with a blue tarp and topped with a yellow bumper, and realized, in true Field of Dreams fashion, that they were going to play on the big field while the Little League team was away.
Read moreChild's Cavity Feels Like Blight On My Parenting Record
Mothers don’t like to talk about cavities because we view them as evidence of what we perceive to be bad parenting. How could we let those precious little baby teeth decay? Even the sound of the word — “decay” — makes us shudder. Decay? DECAY? My child’s mouth has decay?
Read morePresident Lincoln was Depressed, Too
During one of my first depressive episodes when I was younger, I clung to stories of Lincoln and his depression. They helped me understand, or at least accept, something that has always puzzled me about myself: most of my friends know me as an outgoing person. I make a living out of telling stories and writing books that are sometimes humorous. How could someone like me suffer from depression?
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