Little voices, tiny hands. Baby hair still wisps, framing round faces. Wide-eyed. They move, and squirm, roll and tumble. And I try to quiet them, but they are alive with energy. Full of life. We read on the blue rug, I’ll Love You Forever. As I begin to form words on the tongue, I can …
We are sitting in circular formation, teaching colleagues, acquaintances and friends. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Soft lights sparkle on a tree over against the wall. And we wait. In anticipation. Our facilitator directs everyone’s attention to the meeting at hand and then asks us to introduce ourselves. A discussion begins as to what …
I feel discouragement tonight covering me like a dark, heavy cloak. This has been one of those days of joy-less mothering. Of difficult parenting. Of challenging discussions. Of battered emotions and low self- efficacy. Of wondering ‘what if’ and ‘how come.’ Of hopelessness. And just now, as I sit and contemplate where I am with …
As a mom, I feel pressure to capture and preserve every waking moment of my four children’s lives. To photograph, video-tape, blog, anecdote; to keep a baby calendar, baby-record book, family scrapbook, and personal diary; to Facebook, Pinterest, Tweet and Instagram for the love of my children; and to do things the old-fashioned way: write …
Who I am is enough. For now. And I say this first and foremost. The rest will follow as it may. I am under the table wiping up crumbs. While I clean, I talk to Husband, who is wiping counters. I talk about my troubles with Daughter Number One. She has been extraordinarily moody of …
I am checking e-mails when I come across one from a colleague of mine. He and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum in the areas we teach and also have very different social circles within our work environment. However, as we had collaborated ideas at the committee level over the past year, this …
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 …
Library day for Kindergarten A. I, for one, am stoked. Library day is every third Monday, and it is a twenty minute interlude from the hectic pace of life in the zoo. It is the gift that keeps on giving. When library day comes, we all get to escape the confines of the classroom, head …
I am cuddled in bed with my youngest. This, after she has jumped all over the bed and I have calmed her down by rubbing cream on her hands and feet, a nightly calming ritual as much as the bedtime story we are about to read together. Tonight’s selection, Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, is the …
The dog is jumping excitedly around my oldest daughter’s feet. She is trying to teach Lucky, our four and a half month old Mini Australian Shepherd, how to shake a paw. Although, I think at present the lesson has disintegrated into a jumble of paws, feet and hands going every which direction. The four-year old …