Posts under ‘am I really going to miss this age when they grow up?’

Golden Years

Image credit: Photo by
Travis Jon Allison on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

"I don't like Agnes much," said my mother, "She's definitely no Aunt Gerty.  But it's because Gerty was so wonderful that I think Uncle Fred is marrying Agnes."
"What do you mean?" I asked.  Uncle Fred and Aunt Gerty had been married over fifty years [...]

Impatient Haiku

Praying for patience.
Praying... Waiting... Stupid God!
I want patience now!

Sweet Dreams

Image credit: Photo by
kaneda99 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

I have a bazillion ("No," my son Austen, who is very proper about his numbers, would insist, "there's no such thing as a bazillion!"  Fine then, a gajillion?) things I want to get out of my head and onto this virtual paper, but I spent my [...]

Just For Today Challenge: November 24, 2009

Image credit: Photo by
catdancing on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0

Last week, I asked you all to join the Just for Today Challenge with me, where we would all change one thing about our lives for just one day. I'll share what I did, and if you did something yourself, either share about it [...]

One of Those Days

Image credit: Photo by
k a t m
Licensed under Creative Commons

I sort of want to write a post today, but I sort of want to curl up under a blanket and watch the leaves fall more. Of course, I say that, all romantic, with this great image of myself curled up with a cup of [...]

When Yelling Works

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Scream 101 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

There's a reason I'm not a journalist. It's one of those jobs you always think about, if you're one of those people (like me) who has considered careers in writing.  But I always saw two problems with it: 1) I need to let things [...]

War. What Is It Good For?

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LuluP on Flickr
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I'm pretty certain that everyone who passed my daughter Janie's elementary school at dismissal time a few weeks ago now knows me by sight. Yep, I'm that woman whose daughter threw a tantrum so gigantic and so spectacular that it took us over a quarter of [...]

Tallying up my Self-Worth

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boxercab on Flickr
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Last Monday I walked through the grocery store feeling like a weight was crushing my chest, a tight lump in my throat the only thing between me and tears. And part of me wanted to self-indulgently sit there on the linoleum floor under the flicker fluorescent [...]

Beware of the 8-Year-Old

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codepo8 on Flickr
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Most kids (at least those who grow up in safe, middle class, American neighborhoods) don't see every new face at the front door (from evangelists to pizza delivery guys) as a potential threat.  But Austen is not most kids.  Unless they come bearing an Amazon.com box with [...]

I Miss You, Blog

Image credit: Photo by
doug88888 on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

Summers are hard. Enjoyable, yes, but also draining. My kids like routine and predictability, and frankly, so do I. In the summer, there can be routines, but they're different from the rest of the year, and they change more frequently. The whole world [...]