One Mom, Three Kids, Many Adventures
At least once a day, my youngest daughter announces that she “needs a little personal space.” This request is usually made at the top of her lungs and is directed at her brother, who is typically standing less than six inches away from her at the time. There follows a flurry of activity, during which… Continue reading A Little Personal Space, Please!
Patience may be a virtue, but it is not one of my core strengths. I’m programmed for decisive action. I process and synthesize information quickly, make prompt decisions, and then stride purposefully in my chosen direction. I’ll be the first to admit that this approach to life is not without its missteps (cough, my marriage,… Continue reading Waiting Is Not Easy
We’re in the home stretch of the election season and I am feeling all the feelings. I am excited and terrified, energized and exhausted. I feel cautiously optimistic for the country, but also beaten down by the realities of campaigning for progressive platforms in a red state. I am torn between frantically wanting to do… Continue reading Canvasing with Kids
My youngest daughter’s birthday party was the first family social event to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. A hundred years ago (way back in mid-March), she was scheduled to have an indoor pool party with her besties. Two days before the scheduled event, the KY schools shut down. We nixed the pool but met… Continue reading Birthdays Ala COVID
Over fall break, I cooked dinner over a fire of my own creation. I am officially ready for the zombie apocalypse – as long as the zombie apocalypse includes hot dogs and lighter fluid. It will, right? As you may have surmised from previous missives, I am not exactly an Eagle Scout when it comes… Continue reading Campfire Dreams
It was probably inevitable that my crazy dog would learn to climb the fence in the backyard. After all, Buddy Baudelaire had shown remarkable proficiency at tree-climbing, somehow managing to scrabble his way to a truly ridiculous height in a tree at the park. What chance did a puny four-foot chain link fence stand against… Continue reading When Mediocre Plans Go Badly
Sometimes you don’t notice a sound until it stops. Then, in the sudden quiet, you realize just how loud it had been – and how much the undercurrent had been getting under you skin. I’m not a fan of background noise. My brain gets overloaded by superfluous auditory input. I don’t like having music on… Continue reading Turning Down the Background Noise
It has taken me a couple weeks to put together some initial thoughts about virtual schooling. When I write, I try to be both positive and authentic. The Venn Diagram of those aspirations has yielded exactly nothing since the start of the school year. The best I can say is that we’re surviving. We have… Continue reading First Impressions of Virtual Schooling
The kids and I are obsessed with Hamilton. Yes, I know we’re about five years late to the phenomenon. Don’t judge me, just be glad that we’ve finally showed up to the party. My kids have watched the stage recording more times than I have and my eleven-year-old demonstrates a staggering, and at times uncomfortable,… Continue reading Civics Lessons
Captain’s Log: quarantine month five, day four. I appear to have lapsed into a fugue state sometime in the past several weeks and lost the capacity for rational thought. This is the only explanation I can think of for why a trampoline was delivered to our house today. It came with a sprinkler attachment. Pray… Continue reading Quarantine Trampolines and Other Lapses in Judgement
