I have been fascinated and greatly inspired by the portraits, pictures and photographs other people have taken and posted on-line over the holidays. A slew of pictures came across my Facebook feed over the past couple of weeks with beautiful pictures of homes and décor, along with gorgeous family pictures and portraits of beautiful children …
“Now, we all know what kind of person Mary was. She was quiet and gentle and kind, and the little girl who plays Mary should try to be that kind of person. I know that many of you would like to be Mary in our pageant, but of course we can only have one Mary. …
In wake of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conneticutt, U.S.A., there have been waves of anger and sorrow washing over us all. Young and old. Rich and poor. Believer and non-believer. Pain spares no one its icy grip; it holds us ransom with vice-like shackles. The world over, we are united in our grief. And …
We sit, huddled tightly together in the cramped space of a corner. The blinds are darkly drawn, the door is shut. Locked. Little bodies press in close together to the wall. I place my body as a barrier along the tips of their tiny feet, all the while smiling into anxious children’s eyes and modelling …
I am driving our van toward my second Christmas concert of the day (third if you count this morning’s rehearsal), when I become aware that I don’t have Youngest Daughter on board. At the moment of realization, I am at the rink picking up Second Oldest from ice-skating junior’s, as I have just left piano …
Home sick this afternoon…so I asked Littlest One if the kids missed me. Her reply. “Yes, they did for a while. Then they forgot about it.” Oh well… ********************* Most oft used expression/excuse by a certain someone in our house (to explain away a wide variety of problems and other such issues/concerns: “I’m hitting puberty …
While driving in the van towards our weekend ‘three-hour’s worth of figure skating club’, Littlest One says to one and all, “Let’s decorate the tree tonight and then hold hands and sing around the tree.” Yes, let’s. The image conjures up just about every stereotype I have regarding Christmas but which seems to ironically fail …
Here it is- confessions of a good enough mother. Because slacker is such a strong word. I admit it. I use nearly-rotten bananas in smoothies and quickly hide the skins in the compost container. Just so the kids don’t see what grossness they are actually drinking. I also own up to the fact that when …
After a busy day at church, complete with a Sunday School Christmas concert practice, accompaniment on piano during the service and a fellowship meal to prepare, eat and then clean up, the last thing I feel like doing is digging out Christmas ornaments to deck the halls. Falalala….falafel. ‘Cause I feel like the former ground-up …
My kids occasionally ask me what it is I want for Christmas. Which completely throws me… because I place very little stock in what I receive at Christmas. Whereas I realize this is the very large part of what makes Christmas magical for them. So lately, and after reading one Mama’s very consumer-driven, grown-up Christmas …
What happens when three children, one Grandmother and two Mamas/Aunties go shopping together in a crowded mini-van during a down-pour? A whole lot of candy gets bought. And very few Christmas gifts. Santa should provide a few of his slacker elves for babysitting service and maybe a reindeer or two for entertainment. Believe you me. …
So. Son thinks his folks are hill-billies (which he equates with being cheap, I might add). And he calls [one of us in particular, and it’s not me…] this over and over. And as a dear friend said to me tonight, I guess we could be called worse names. However, I guess the jokes on …