Thanks For The Facebook Memories
Did you know that I’m so old I joined Facebook when you still needed a .edu email address? This will not surprise my children; they already think I’m ancient. I remember being excited when I was finally issued my college email, it felt so grown up. Compared to my first Hotmail user name, which was a silly collection of things I liked followed by a number, I guess it was pretty grown up. So, one of the first things I did with it was sign up for The Facebook. Yes, The Facebook, not just Facebook. Google says they dropped the “The” my first semester of college, so there you go.…
Infants & Tweens: Things That Make You Tired
It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since I became a mom. I remember those awkward postpartum days, rocked by a whole new way of life. My belly was squishy in a way it’s never recovered from. There was all this weird postpartum hair loss coating my shower wall. And I was exhausted— sleep-deprived and always on the verge of tears about it. I watched my friends with slightly older kids lay their little ones down to bed, and their babies just went to sleep in the crib, just like that. They slept without requiring rocking and singing and tiptoeing out of the room, only to start the…
New Year, Old Me (possibly)
There’s something special about January. The second hand shifts from one side of the clock to the other, our phone calendars flip to the next month and a new year, and it feels like we’re given a clean slate. Resolutions are made as we envision the kind of person we will be in the new year. Personal health goals like exercising regularly, cutting out sodas and/or alcohol, or, for the truly determined, not lying to the dentist when she asks if you floss regularly. Or maybe the goals are home-oriented, like decluttering one space each week, finally sticking with that cleaning schedule, or the ambitious, folding and putting away laundry…
2021: A Year in Review
Were I to get my act together and send out a Christmas card, this would be it. What We’ve Learned: Supergirl: How to independently (ish) use a pacifier Flash: How to use the potty [Sort of] Wonder Woman: Activating switches with the turn of a head is far easier, and therefore more enjoyable than using hands/arms. Batman: Sounding out words is hard, but reading can be fun. Superman: Multiplication tables 1 through 8 Mom: Parenting odd numbers of children is harder than even numbers Dad: We have an odd number of children? What We’ve Loved: Supergirl: Being constantly entertained by every member of the family. Flash: Everything. Life is…
2021, Where’d You Go?
Wow. It has been a hot minute since I last wrote or shared an update. Thank you for your patience with me as I shake the rust off my brain and try to remember how to put keystrokes to screen and compose complete, adult-sounding sentences again. Somehow an entire year has gone by and I am now the parent of children that are 8, 7, 5, 3, and 4 months old. Yes, they are all a year older and there’s a new one. They have multiplied, somedays like Gremlins it seems. I am basking in the glow of warm, white lights on a tree that will probably be up for…
Our Story: A History of Love and Tolerance
The year was 1996. She was nine years old and new to the United States after living most of her life in Europe as an Army brat. It was an awkward age, moving countries while simultaneously growing up and away from her beloved Barbies. Thankfully, cable TV and reruns of Lois and Clark helped ease the transition. He was twelve and had discovered the joys of middle school, like hair gel, band and football practice, and long walks home in the Texas heat. It wasn’t love at first sight– they’re not even sure when they saw each other for the first time. Despite attending the same small church, they wouldn’t…
2020: A Year in Review
Another year down, and what a wild ride it was. But instead of getting into all of that, here’s a snapshot of all the things the Robertsons did last year. What We’ve Learned: Flash: How to use step stools in the kitchen to steal donuts, cookies, and sweets off the counter. Wonder Woman: How to get out of boring church services being noisy during the sermon. Batman: Counting to 100, letter sounds, and how to be a virtual Kindergartener. Superman: How to log into Zoom with an awesome Avengers background, and maybe learn some stuff in the process. Mom: How to facilitate e-learning without losing my mind– AKA lowered expectations.…
Anticipating The Night Before Christmas
There’s a moment on Christmas Eve that stands out as my favorite of the entire holiday season. It occurs at the very end of all the hustle and bustle, when the typical onslaught of holiday parties, shopping, and general busyness has finally reached a close. It comes after getting everyone dressed up for church and trying to force my children to take just one good picture in their nicest holiday clothes. It’s after the chaos of dinner and the insanity of bedtime on the most exciting night of the year. And it’s at the tail end of my present wrapping extravaganza, where I dig out all of the presents hiding…
Live and Love Without Words
We have the privilege of celebrating another birthday with our Wonder Woman, who has just turned four. Four more celebrations than she was ever supposed to have, according to a misinformed medical community. I am at a loss for words, which is inconvenient for me since this blog is specifically for writing. But when I think about how far she’s come, it doesn’t feel like the right words exist to describe her journey, her strength, or how she’s changed us, and that’s fitting since she lives and loves all without words. As a writer by trade, it’s odd for me to experience something so ineffable. I always search for the…
Messy Vans & the Comfort of Drive-Thrus
Like many moms my age, I have a minivan, and I love her. Though a look at the trash piling up on flat surfaces, crusty French fries in crevices, and spilled sticky-something in the back right cup holder might give you a different impression. I feel slightly guilty about the mess she’s in, and I’ve started giving myself half-hearted mental reminders about her biannual cleaning. But truthfully, the mess is part of the reason I love my van. There are French fries everywhere because it’s the perfect place for meals on the go. Straw wrappers float around like confetti from the delicious iced chais and sweet teas I’ve consumed while…
