By Wendy Rhein I often feel like I’m living in a social experiment. I am witness to the circle of life every day with a 2 1/2 year old, a 7 year old, a 43 year old and a 72 year old sharing a relatively small space. I really should carry a notebook for my […]
By: Amy Wise After over 20 years of being together I take it for granted that we are…well…just us. I tend to forget that society sees us with different eyes than we do. Lately I have been reminded of this on numerous occasions. The first time was at a car show a few months back. […]
By: Wendy Rhein A reader recently asked me for an update on Nate’s desire to write a letter to his biological father. First of all I was thrilled that anyone was paying attention, let alone remembered the entry! Second of all I wish I had more news. I contacted Nate’s father via email, the only […]
I have been M.I.A. from The Next Family for a while because I have been working day and night on my quote book. After a LOT of hard work, Believe in Yourself, Inspire Others, Spread Joy!, is now published! What began as a personal journey during a very dark time ended up becoming so much more. […]
By: Wendy Rhein “Who is THAT?” “This is Nathan’s brother, Sam.” “He isn’t Nathan’s real brother! He doesn’t look anything like you.” And so started my Friday evening. Actually, let me back up. My evening started when I dashed out of work for daycare pick up. I walked into the happy and bright room and […]
By: Wendy Rhein I made my mother cry today. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to make her cry but I did want her to react. Days before her 71st birthday, Mom is cranky and taking all sorts of strange physical risks. Just this summer she had her hip replaced, making her fully bionic […]
By: Wendy Rhein There are a plethora of labeling adjectives in modern marketing speak meant to define my family demographic: multi-ethnic, single parent by choice, multi-racial, adoptive, sandwich generation, multi-generational. Just the other day someone told me we are the poster family for modern diversity. I suppose that should be a good thing and it […]
By: Amy Wise When Jamie and I got married in 1993, we knew that we wanted to have children right away. We both love our families and we wanted to start our own soon after our wedding, so we did! Tatiana Chantal Wise came into this world 17 years ago, on September 20th, 1994. From […]
By: Amy Wise So the other day I was at Starbucks with a friend of mine. I call her my “Starbucks Homie” because that is the only place we ever see each other. Ever. We get together about once a month and sit there for hours, and I mean hours, catching up on all that […]
By: Amy Wise Life…sometimes it can be a bit much. To say my plate is full is the understatement of the year. I need a giant turkey platter to hold all that is going on in my life right now. I haven’t been writing much because my brain is so full I can’t seem to […]
