Love More, Judge Less
It was a quintessential American moment. My son and his classmates filed into their high school gymnasium as the school band played “Pomp and Circumstance.” I quickly spotted my son among the sea of red caps and gowns. I’d recognize his familiar gait anywhere. I was overcome with so many emotions at once.
I really didn’t like you at first, I’m not going to lie. My seven year old loves The Sound of Music movie. He happily sings the Rodgers and Hammerstein songs at home as he plays and it warms my heart. My son loves the theater, too. When I saw the play was coming
My family was having a healthy winter season. Eerily healthy. We dealt with one minor cold, but nothing really to speak of. I beat the odds and staved off my annual month long virus-from-hell culminating in a sinus infection and a few rounds of antibiotics event. My youngest had his tonsils out last year and
How do you know when you love someone? That is the question I decided to ask my seven-year-old last Friday night because I was curious what he would say. It had been a long week. Too long. I was exhausted. As we ate our dinner, my son hummed contently “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” from
I have two children. They are ten and a half years apart in age. It used to surprise me how often people commented on my sons’ age gap, but now I am used to it. When I wait for my younger son at a birthday party, karate practice, after school pick-up, or some other school-related
My son turned eighteen earlier this month. I am now the mother of an adult child. I’m not sure how to feel about this. I remember my son’s first year vividly. Moms with grown children would say things like “Cherish this time because it goes by so fast.” The truth is I didn’t cherish
I guess I’m simple. I want my sons to grow up to be nice people who strive to make this imperfect world better. I try to model, not just talk about, important values. Honesty is among the values I hold most dear. I tell my kids the truth, even when it is hard, because I
My husband turned fifty earlier this month. I wanted to give him a gift that was purposeful, somehow acknowledging this milestone in meaningful way. I struggled with how to do that. Then the idea of compiling fabulous quotes for someone turning fifty came to me. Whenever I have searched for meaning, needed inspiration, or struggled
In the past year I have read several articles about the “emotional labor” and “mental load” of motherhood. Moms plan/coordinate everyone’s schedules, arrange carpools, schedule doctors appointments, research and schedule contractors/repairmen, plan vacations, arrange teacher conferences, locate missing household items, keep track of homework due dates, plan/coordinate meals, manage clothing needs, and even make
My children’s first day back to school went off without a hitch this year. Days two and three? Not so much. The following words might help explain…”emergency heat-index early dismissals.” Despite having air conditioning in his school, my second grader got sent home at noon on these days while my twelfth grader remained in school
