Judy Gruen

“Just because you needed to lose weight, why are you taking it out on us? What did we do?” another son repined. They continued their assault by reminding me that this was Thursday, and Thursday used to be hot dog night . . .

I had been looking forward to lolling around during the waning days of summer, eating runny sugar-free ice cream while my kids savored the premium scoops. But I was forced into aerobic action: running around like a woman possessed, surrendering my credit ...

In most ways I'm a classic Jewish mother. If I'm cold, I tell my kids to put on sweaters. But I depart from the stereotypes in one significant way: I really am not interested in hearing from my kids every day when they are away at camp...

At a certain point, I will run out of food. And then we, along with about 4,000 of our neighbors, start hitting the kosher pizza joints...

How can a mom who isn't fluent in Dodger talk have a conversation with a teen that will last longer than it takes to even utter the word "con-ver-sa-tion"? One night, as I watched one son laboring over a book of Talmud, I had an idea...

Both my grandmothers came from "the old country," and trust me, there is no word for "disposable" in Yiddish. In fact, through her judicious use, rinsing, and re-use of aluminum foil, one of my Bubbies only used two rolls of foil during her entire life! W...

Last month, columnist Judy Gruen announced her candidacy for President of the United States. This month, she reports from the campaign trail...

This election will not truly look like America, will not transcend the petty partisan politics of the past, without a Jewish mother candidate. Yes, running for president will complicate my schedule for the next many months, but who better to make sacrific...

My agility with first and second-grade schoolwork preserved my young children's belief (so sadly short-lived) that my husband and I knew just about everything in the world. Ah, those were the days...

"Mom? We're at the store, and you wrote down 'eggs.' But did you want regular, extra large, jumbo, organic, fertile, or free-range?"