Word: joshed
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Hurried and hushed negotiations commence. Mary Lou huddles with Sandy and Joyce to discuss logistical changes involved in meeting Josh's request. Dylan will have to return early. Dana too. Within ten minutes, it's settled. Sandy and Joyce will make the round-trip drive on Sunday. Josh will be at practice...
...parents Sandy and Mary Lou Maisel were college sweethearts when they were married at 21. They were divorced when Josh was six. Sandy Maisel, 42, is a professor of government who recently finished one year of teaching at Harvard. Usually Sandy teaches at Colby College in Waterville, where Josh was raised. Sandy took over full-time custody of Josh and his older sister Dana, now 16, after the divorce. On certain weekends and selected holidays, Josh and Dana spend time with their mother, who runs a management-consulting business in southern Maine...
Within a few years of the divorce, Sandy remarried, and Josh's family grew by two. His stepmother is Joyce McPhetres Maisel, 31, a college counselor who, like Sandy, was divorced. She has a nine-year-old son, Dylan McPhetres. The new family structure can get confusing. Dylan calls his stepfather "Sandy." Dana and Josh call him "Dad" and their stepmother "Joyce." Bouncing back and forth can trip Dylan up. "Sometimes I call my dad 'Josh' because I'm used to saying his name," says Dylan. "Once I called my stepmother 'Mom' and I also called Sandy 'Dad' once...
...Friday afternoon, Josh's mix-and-match family is in the bleachers at Belmont High watching him play basketball. Sandy shouts loudly at each play Josh makes. Joyce arrives from work at half time. Mary Lou sits with Dana a short distance away. That night she'll drive the kids two hours north for a planned three-day holiday weekend; Dylan will be dropped off in Kennebunk, Me., to spend time with his father. A different parent will bring all three children back to Belmont. Parenthood in the late 20th century: love and logistics and chagrin...
...When Josh comes out of the locker room, he kisses his father, hugs Joyce, gives his mom a kiss and says softly to her, "I have basketball practice on Monday. It's important to me." The coach called practice when the team lost. Josh wants to be with his team even if it means cutting short his visit with Mom. The delicate letting-go stage of parenting has begun...