One Mom, Three Kids, Many Adventures
I grew up in northern Illinois. Each of the four seasons got its turn and each made the most of it. Thunderstorms and flowers in the spring? Check. Zillion degree heat and lots of humidity in the summer? Check. Stunningly beautiful fall foliage? Check. Then came winter and snow. Lots of snow. Because we were… Continue reading The Evolution of Snow Days
Us: The country is hopelessly divided. Polarization is at an all-time high. Nothing could possibly bring us together. Bernie Sanders: Hold my beer and hand me my mittens. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, put down the paper and go Google “Bernie Sanders mittens.” Go on. I’ll wait. Sweet, frumpy Bernie Sanders… Continue reading Changing the Narrative (At Last)
I nearly killed my daughter’s fish last weekend. You know, the fish that were The Beloved Christmas Gift this year? Yeah, those fish. It got me thinking about personal responsibility and – after the insanity we’ve witnessed in recent weeks on the political stage – this seems like a worthy topic to discuss. Let’s start… Continue reading Admitting Fault Is Hard – And Necessary
My eldest child has been pestering me for years to get her a pet. For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the addition of fifty-three pounds of deranged dog fur to our home did not satisfy her longings. Much as she loves the incorrigible Buddy Baudelaire, she wanted her own personal pet, not… Continue reading Fabulous Fish Friends
Despite my best efforts and careful precautions, I found out on New Year’s Eve that I had been exposed to the coronavirus. This post chronicles the Stages of Quarantine for Healthy people. Spoiler alert: I did not have COVID and never felt remotely unwell. So, this is more about how compulsively busy people handle forced… Continue reading The Quarantine Chronicles
Every year during the holidays, memes circulate on Facebook illustrating the daunting task of remembering what day of the week it is. My favorite one homes in on the no man’s land between Christmas and New Year, the time period characterized by feeling “confused” and “full of cheese.” I relate so deeply to that meme… Continue reading Presence, Play, and Oreo Truffles
I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming winter solstice. On the one hand, solstice is the turning point – the darkest night before the days begin to lengthen again. It’s the first pinprick of light, the glimpse of the end of the tunnel. But then again, winter is really only just beginning. The… Continue reading Looking for Light in the Darkness
This article is alternatively titled: T-minus fourteen days until Christmas - How are you holding up? Like everything else in the world right now, this holiday season is proving a mixed bag as we work our way through the Snyder Family 2020 Christmas Bucket List. First, let’s talk about how incredible gingerbread houses are. I… Continue reading A Tale of Gingerbread Houses and Panic Attacks
The holiday season is going to look different this year. With COVID raging and the temperatures dropping, we’re hunkering down, further curtailing our already-limited contact with others. One night, without really meaning to, I started cataloging all the things that weren’t going to happen this year. No holiday performances, like the Nutcracker or a show… Continue reading Making the Most of the Season
I put up our Christmas decorations five days before Thanksgiving. And I don’t mean that I snuck one string of lights or a snowman mug out to get a taste for the season. Oh, no. We didn’t hold back. Nativity scene on the mantle, stockings hanging below. Icicle lights in the windows. Light-up reindeer and… Continue reading Christmas Comes Early – I’m Not Sorry
