The moon is high over head, and the picnic table is illuminated by a citronella candle in lieu of the campfire we are without. Forest fires have been spreading across other parts of the country, and the intense outside temperatures heating the air are such tonight that even a flicker of flame caught on a …
There are days when joy comes sparingly. When despair sets in, and disappointment robs me of the present, the immediate. When I fall from grace. When I succumb to pain. And I am left empty. Today is such a day. And I am very aware of all that I am. And all that I am …
The things we do for love. This past week, I have been more aware of how we who are parents change while we are on vacation- we become even better people than hopefully we already are. Not a real coincidence that all this happens while parents are on vacation from the real world. But, it …
A dear ‘stay-at-home mama’ friend of mine wrote her Facebook status today on ‘being present’. She briefly addressed the fact that she is with her children daily, but she is not always present with them. In this update, she vowed to be more present and ‘in the moment’ than she had failed to be in …
Bedtime rituals bring out my inner grizzly bear. There are always impulsive exceptions to the rule introduced by the Fearless Foursome. Exceptions that just about tilt my boat enough to sink it entirely. Nothing ever goes exactly as per routine. I roar for the majority of this most miserable of nightly moments, and then I …
I do not believe in fairy tales, and neither do I believe in happy endings. Life, as I see it, is a series of imperfections, unfortunate experiences, and hard times that follow one after the other. People talk about life being beautiful, precious and wildly exciting, but I don’t see it. I really don’t. Life …
As I pen words, it is a dreary, soaking-wet, rain-drenched evening outside my sitting room window. We are all drying ourselves out after a torrential down-pour just moments ago, occurring just as we made a run for it from the van to the front steps. This onslaught also occurring after we all had walked through …
I am in my closet, hiding from the child crying on the other side of the bedroom door. Instead of telling her to go away and allow me a moment’s peace whilst I stand here in my birthday suit, I ask her what (in the name of tarnation) is wrong. She informs me that her …
Ever had one of those days when you think you have all the time in the world, and then you discover you’ve forgotten something particularly significant? As in, picking up a child attending an after- school program? Yeah, me neither. But, let’s just say that “were” this to happen, it might go down like this: …
Reminded today that our children love us as we are: unconditionally, uninhibited, unequivocally. Children see in us beauty, strength, patience and understanding, things we often do not give ourselves credit for. They make us the hero- champions of all things wise and wonderful: beautiful princesses, brave knights, diverse and varied role models and mythic magicians. …
While the birds and bees are busy buzzing around the countryside reminding us all of springtime flings hither and yon, I am drawn to listen carefully to conversations about kissing and puberty and other such exciting topics for mothers to eavesdrop in on. Nature is not the only expression of growing up and falling in …
A half year ago, we bought tickets to attend the Prince County Exhibition. As part of the tour of the grounds, our family went inside the small animal’s barn. We all looked into each pen, yelling with shrieks of delight over each new exhibit. The kids called out excited exclamations to each other when a …