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…
Lightbulb Moments in Parenting & Life
My son looked at me with his serious face, dark eyes locked on mine. He repeated words I had just told him with a “yes ma’am” tacked on for good measure. Then, the moment they were out of his mouth, he jumped off-topic, stringing words together in a run-on sentence. “Listen to you, wait until you say so, yes ma’am, I think I know what the answer was.” “We’re not talking about the answer right now,” I said sternly. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose, forcing myself to stay calm. I was trying to help my oldest son with schoolwork while juggling other things on my…
Back to School-ish and Family Traditions
Every year on the first day of school, while my kids are munching on cereal and getting ready, I can be found in my pajamas, complete with messy hair and socks with flip-flops, coloring on my driveway with rainbow-colored chalk. I do a giant letter/number outline for each child, filling it in with their name, school, and teacher. I also ask my kids what they want to be when they grow up, and I include whatever answer they give me, especially when that answer makes me chuckle. This year’s surprise answers were tow truck driver and “fighting Army guy.” Despite the nontraditional beginning of schoolyear 20/21, I stuck with our…
Deck Building
I’m trying to envision what our deck will be like when it’s finished. I imagine the feel of the smooth wood underneath my feet and picture red-stained boards marking the view outside our patio door instead of the existing shifting concrete and ugly gravel. I envision myself lying on a lounge chair, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the quiet of my backyard— obviously, in this dream, my kids aren’t outside at the same time. I think of how wonderful it will be to wheel our daughter outside instead of two-man lifting her and her chair, all 110 lbs of them, down two stairs that feel massive under the…
