There we were, walking down the hall to our apartment, your feet moving slower than usual, your hand tightly gripping my own.
Normally the journey to our front door after school involves you dancing and twirling so that your hands are in the air instead of wrapped up in mine. Normally you are chattering away, singing a silly song, happily laughing as your smile casts extra light into the fading day…. More
Sometimes we just need to take a day off from the craziness of motherhood. It’s so important to have fun with our kids and be goofy and playful. Here’s what happened when I “took the day off.”
Last year, my husband, filled with the holiday spirit, sprinted to our church’s angel tree and rashly grabbed two paper Christmas balls with gifts indicated on the hidden side. He proudly thrust them at me and asked me to buy the gifts.
“WHAT? This one says a bike for a 12-18 year-old-girl WITHHELMET. That’s probably $150, plus I’ll have to haul that in and out of my Subaru. My wagon Subaru. The other one says a craft set for an 8-10 year-old-girl. You should have gotten another one like that.”… More
I have a collection of wool socks, winter coats, and a variety of blankets that never get put into storage. Boots have a constant home in my closet, and my fleece lined crocs…well, I go through about two pair a year.
No, I don’t live in Alaska. My kids play ice hockey…. More
It is so hard to explain that feeling that overcomes you when you first learn that another child is being mean to your child. It’s a shock to the system, a dumbfounding moment of, “I’m sorry, MY baby is being picked on?!” Then that very specific gut reaction is triggered… That deep primitive protect-your-young instinct comes right on out from behind those manicured nails and mom jeans. Oh yes, I too know that “I-will-make-the-mother-bear-in-The-Revenant-look-like-WINNIE-THE-FLIPPING-POOH!” instinct very well. Once we have a moment to calm down, (and remember mauling other people’s children is frowned upon) we are left with the reality that we need to find appropriate and healthy alternative ways to solve these kinds of problems…. More
