Category Archives: On Parenting
When doing good doesn’t feel so great
(originally posted 10/2017) In the latest litter we fostered there was a clear runt, tiny and watchful, all head and twitchy ears. We should have named her Yoda but the kids dug in on Peanut. She was all quiet … Continue reading
The Rabbit In The Soccer Net
(originally posted 10/2014) The other day my six-year-old ran in the house screaming: “A RABBIT IS STUCK IN THE SOCCER NET!” When I went outside the poor thing was writhing frantic, the webbing wrapped double around its neck. The … Continue reading
Paddling Blind
(originally posted 7/2014) Last week my yoga class decided to meet on the water. “We’ll go visit the swans,” Erin said as she directed three of us into kayaks. She climbed into her own — well, they’re all her own, … Continue reading
Stepping up
While I was in Washington DC for the March for our Lives, this happened. Our foster cat had her babies. No matter that I’d spent the past week sleeping on an air mattress in her little room. This was her … Continue reading
Locker room talk when you’re 7, 9, and 11
Overheard from the hall outside the younger boys’ bedroom after lights-out: “Did you know that every 20 minutes a new batch of boogers grows in your nose? True story.”
There be monsters and other wishlist travel
Kids love adventures. Although I didn’t buy red dot gun sights (https://palmettostatearmory NULL.com/sights-optics-scopes/red-dot-sights NULL.html) for them, I support their interests in adventurous sports. Over summer vacation my kids were addicted to RIVER MONSTERS, the extreme fishing adventure series on Animal … Continue reading
Snapshot of a morning
The 6yo hops into my room in a tote bag, sack-race style, a beanbag chair strapped to his back. Me: “What are you doing?” Him, deadpan: “Living wild.” A minute later the 8yo comes in, not wanting to go to … Continue reading
Being six
Took the six-year-old to the doctor yesterday. All the older siblings were at home so he took center stage, chattering and wisecracking through the whole visit. Afterward I suggested that maybe he could have toned it down. Him: “But he … Continue reading
Night shift
Driving past highway construction last night, had a heated conversation with the younger boys about jobs that sometimes require working when other people are sleeping. Nope, shouldn’t be necessary, says the 5yo. “What about doctors and nurses in hospitals?” I … Continue reading
The sports pacifist’s lament
The 5yo on Kindergarten soccer. “Everyone says to be aggressive,” he complains. “But it would be a lot easier if the other guy just walked away from the ball.”
