My Child’s Grief Gave Me Permission to Feel
My six-year-old daughter wouldn’t touch the food on her plate. I asked what was wrong, but she shook her head. After clearing the table, I asked her to follow me back to our bedroom. Kindergarten can really wear her out, and
The Older Woman I Want to Be
This morning, I took my two eldest daughters to swim at the YMCA because I did not want to spend the rainy day all cooped up in the house. My girls squealed and splashed as they entered the water. My six-year-old
Enjoy Them While They’re Young
On Saturday, my husband and I left our house a mess and took the girls to the fall festival in town. The cool breeze stripped a few leaves off the trees and sent them scuttling down the sidewalk as we
The Beginning, Again
On Tuesday, at the coffee shop, I noticed a young mom and dad sitting across from each other. The mom scarfed down a sandwich while glancing at the car seat on the table as if the newborn could escape. I loved
Making the Moments Last
This week, my eldest started kindergarten, and my youngest grew out of her newborn sleepers. The fact that my five-year-old once wore her ten-week-old sister’s sleepers (as did her middle sister) made both transitions even more acute. I remember laying
Parenting Ain’t For Sissies
I watched the oven clock while washing dishes; my pregnant belly so big that I had to lean forward to reach the sink. It’d been an entire hour since my two-year-old made it clear that she preferred sitting on the Time
Parenthood: Snipping Away Our Character Flaws
Two weeks ago, I purchased a spider plant at Aldi’s for $4.99. I have a thing for plants, and in our move from Wisconsin to Tennessee, I lost all my plants but for an orchid. Therefore, I’ve been slowly and stealthily
I’m Going to Cherish Every Moment (Even If It Kills Me)
I became one of those moms last night, with the toddler throwing herself down across the entryway to the store, causing patrons to pause as they looked from her to me and then back down at her, unsure if they
“Mom! Look at me!” Learning To Focus On My Child’s Face
For the past few months, I've noticed that my almost four-year-old daughter, Miss A, has a floating eye. It usually only happens when she’s tired or so into a story—where expressive hand motions abound—that she has trouble focusing on my
Garden Therapy
The couple who previously owned our farm—she was a weaver, he was a musician and accordion repairman—were very artistic in the layout of their flower beds, so now it’s nearly impossible for me to distinguish perennials from weeds. This, combined with