Dry leaves whispering, my breath hangs white in the air as I wave goodbye.
Posts under ‘parenting’
When Yelling Works
Image credit: Photo by 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 [...]
Lullaby
Image credit: Photo by Big Grey Mare on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons "Honey?" Mark has been putting the kids to sleep. I thought he'd fallen asleep with them, but now he pops his head into the living room. "Austen says his stomach hurts and he can't get to sleep. Can you come take a [...]
Janie Can’t Make Up Her Mind Haikus
Halloween creeps up… Janie stretches her arms wide, shouts, “I’ll be a bat!” “For certain, a bat! Unless I should be a witch. Or maybe a cat.” “I’ll be a princess! A vampire! A zombie! A princess zombie!” Mama thinks she’ll be whatever’s left in the store on Halloween eve!
Party Pooper
Image credit: Photo by jennifer buehrer on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I'm a party pooper. I'm a downer. I'm no fun. I ruin other people's good times. (Because I totally have control over other people's good times, you know.) You see, yesterday Mark and I had plans to take the kids to a pumpkin [...]
In Which I Teach my Daughter a Lesson
Image credit: Photo by Alejandro Castro on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons It was true love, the moment I saw it. I was bathed in light and heard angels singing (no, really, that wasn't just the glow for the screen and the background music for the ad). There it was: The Beatles Rock Band, a [...]
Measuring Love
Image credit: Photo by tripp-e on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons My daughter Janie ran up to me today, curls bouncing and eyes sparkling, and exclaimed enthusiastically, "Mama, I love you the most of anyone!" Then she thought for a moment and (clearly not wanting to leave her other loved ones out of the picture) [...]
War. What Is It Good For?
Image credit: Photo by LuluP on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons 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 [...]
Nightmares
Image credit: Photo by samzie2006 on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I woke up this morning, muscles clenched like a fist and throat tight with anxiety, wanting to grab my son and never let him go. I crept to where he was sleeping and ran my fingers through his curls, reassuring myself he was there [...]
Tallying up my Self-Worth
Image credit: Photo by boxercab on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons 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 [...]
