There is a pink Littlest Pet Shop kitten cuddled up in the Virgin Mary’s lap. It is sharing a spot with baby Jesus, vying for the most coveted spot in the nativity scene. And I found presumptuous Her when I was picking up the umpteenth dozen leftover toy there in the fireplace room tonight, toys …
Me (on my way up to the bathroom with the phone in my hand): “Guys, I am going to make an important phone call to someone VERY IMPORTANT. I am going upstairs to make that call. Please do not fight or scream while I am on the phone.” Oldest Daughter: “Well, that’s offensive….” Two minutes …
I might just be the world’s worst hospital advocate for my sickish children. Not to say I always was: just saying that with age and experience also comes both insanity and exhaustion. And deterioration. Mental breakdown. Brain cell reduction. Which is to say that I think my brain has (obviously) lost a little of its …
There are some things I cannot change. Even if I tried. I cannot change my nightly routine of making my way into all my children’s bedrooms, smoothing back hair with the palm of a hand, kissing damp-haired foreheads in the shadows of a dimly lit room. I cannot change that. I cannot change that I …
I believe we are in desperate times, people. And desperate times call for desperate measures. And so it is with great verve and energy that I issue a battle cry for action. It is time we took back what is rightfully ours, families of the world. It is time we re-claimed our rights to that …
I feel strongly compelled to write about an issue that is hitting me square between the jaw, as I am a mother of three young girls as well as a teacher who interacts with girls of many different ages each and every day. Body image. It is something that young girls begin thinking about as …
If you are wondering, you probably don’t have to worry. You are doing just fine. In fact, you are doing better than fine. You’re rocking this gig. Trust your instincts. Believe in yourself. You’re a great Mama. I get impatient with people who make comments about parents saying things like, “I think they are a …
We’re driving. The road, a seemingly endless stretch of gray in front of us. There’s certainly not much to see on either side. And I am bemoaning to the Boy the fact that all the leaves have fallen off the trees. It had been so pretty, I say to him, just a week or so …
I am scraping out the innards of a huge spaghetti squash with a spoon. Yellow fibers and white seeds accumulate in a soft pile on my cutting board. I work purposefully- around and around. The more I scrape, the easier I can see the pale yellowish sides of this fleshy melon-shaped gourd. It is cathartic, …
A hug takes but a second. But that is hard for a big brother to understand, let alone tolerate. And she is tormenting him. Mercilessly. Arms wrapped around his waist in a vice-grip. He allows her for but a moment longer, and then I can see that he’s had enough. He says something smart- words …
Gratitude: it’s a matter of the heart. I could speak of the day. Gorgeous, crisp autumn chill. Leaves pattern the dying grass. Down a heritage road, I can see for a mile a canopy of tree branches laden down with hues of gold, crimson, burnt orange: deep and rich. Air pungent with earthy undertones. The …
{I have been feeling it all week- like a balloon expanding far past its limit. It pushes on my chest and squeezes my lungs. Stress. Anxiety. Tension. It is eating away at me from the inside out. I was able to hide it at first, putting my game face on to face the world. But …