Writing

After a summer full of celebrating our country’s 250th, our American Summer challenge has come to an end. I have to tell you, it was everything I hoped it would be and so much more.

I have been inspired to do this work because I personally know the difference that one person, one neighbor, one connection can make in your life both as a child and as an adult. Yesterday, on National Good Neighbor Day, I was reminded again of that deep power.

In honor of National Good Neighbor Day on Monday, September 28th, and the US Chamber of Connection’s Welcome Week, starting September 26th, let’s build neighborhood connections all across America through invitations.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, and it may seem odd to be talking about saying no to signing your kid up for organized youth sports – but there IS a connection.

I’ve been thinking a lot about space – not the planets or stars – but space in my mind, space in my day, space from technology, space in my calendar, space to play, and to connect. Protected space.

The more people I talk with about Block Party USA’s American Summer campaign, the more I realize that whilst we don’t need to extend Summer (it’s time to get those kids back into a routine!) we should definitely extend American Summer!

No matter how old my kids are, I will always think of the back-to-school season as a new start, a new year, with new routines and thoughts about what I would like the year ahead to look like. For me, I want less stress. I want sanity. Talking with others, I know I’m not alone. The truth is that most of us are operating at a pace that is not congruent with our biology.

Teens (13-17) are the loneliest age group in the world in 2026. Parents feel powerless to help their kids with friendships, and most don’t realize the power they do have to fight loneliness within the four walls of their own homes. As parents, we have the opportunity (and responsibility) to build connection and a sense of belonging within the family unit. It starts with the family “tribe.”

As parents of college kids, we have to stop putting our relationships on pause until they do what's needed (behavior change, undone tasks, or unmet expectations).

There's a way to make sure everyone gets their expectations met for family vacations, even you!

Our neighborhood network is an unrealized piece of the family well-being puzzle, and it has dissolved over the years. Bringing it back by organizing micro-local neighborhood gatherings is important for us to have resilient families, both parents and children.

There are lots of family road trips happening this weekend and all summer, which is GREAT, as they are an easy opportunity to build connection and prevent loneliness in our own families, especially with our tweens and teens!

This week is Loneliness Awareness Week and it’s time to talk about loneliness – what it is/isn’t, the unhelpful and baseless stigma that it holds, and, of course, what we can do about it.

We are only just beginning to realize that human connection needs to be a priority in our daily lives. Our next step, right alongside that, is to understand play as a priority, not just as an opportunity for connection, but as critical to the well-being of children, teens, and adults.

Madness. It’s not just for March anymore – it’s for May too. “May-cember,” as it’s now referred to, is jam-packed with joyful but schedule-disrupting and time-consuming end-of-school-year concerts, field/sports days, graduations, and celebrations.

I’ve heard from so many of you that you absolutely love the idea of getting together with your neighbors, but you haven’t organized a block party (micro-local neighborhood gathering) yet. It’s important to get curious about what’s getting in the way of you hosting one, so you can know you’re not alone in what’s holding you back, but that these are hurdles that you can absolutely overcome.

In the end, it is our relationships that mean the most in our lives, but our burnout-guaranteed pace of life and digital exhaustion get in the way of us making time for clubs, activities, and even our friends. This perpetual busyness and lack of participation in clubs and groups is not only impacting our mortality, but threatening our democracy.

In honor of America’s 250th birthday, Block Party USA, my tool to help families and our nation, is launching American Summer — a nationwide call to revive the forgotten tradition of neighborhood block parties, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, with a special focus on July 3rd, 4th, and America’s Potluck on July 5th.

Despite the name, Block Party USA is not just about block parties. Our focus is micro-local neighborhood gatherings (you can see how that would be a little too wordy for a website name 😉). These neighborhood gatherings take all different forms.

Many people don’t realize that eating disorders are the second most deadly mental illnesses, only after opioid addiction.