Daughter is all of eight years old now and is developing her own musical tastes. Until now things were ruled pretty much by Disney and the few child-specific albums recorded by bands that we could get behind no problem. The whole family has a soft spot for The Barenaked Ladies album “Snacktime,” and The… Continue reading Children’s music
When Daughter was born we got a whole lot of advice. We listened to some, and we ignored some, and we found our balance and it was wonderful. There was also a whole lot of story telling from people peppered in with that advice. I get that now because I love to share stories and… Continue reading I didn’t drop the baby
Lately I have found myself sadly focusing on the apparent inevitability of Daughter growing up, and it’s really been getting me down. Husband and I both have had some rude awakenings where she is concerned lately, and we’ve not been entirely good at handling them. From her changes in appearance and attitude to the questions… Continue reading They grow up
Have you ever noticed how songs seem perfectly innocuous until your child is singing the lyrics? They’re suddenly horribly suggestive and filthy and disgusting. When did the transformation take place? When did everything change? The same type of logic applies to movies that you’ve seen a dozen times, sometimes even as a kid. Out of… Continue reading Parent Eyes
I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon bowling with Husband and Daughter, which went surprisingly well considering my previously mentioned lack of grace. I didn’t break or pull anything new, only slightly upset my now perpetually at least moderately sore back, and only accidentally threw the ball backwards once. Overall a very positive… Continue reading We are the village
Have you ever noticed that, when it comes to taking your kids out to dinner, the selections in your average place are pretty much the same: macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, hot dog, cheese quesadilla, hamburger, pizza? Every once in a while you’ll find somewhere that has a few more “out of the box” suggestions… Continue reading Credit where it’s due
A long time ago I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t write anything that would make Daughter feel embarrassed were she to read it later in life. I am not going to break that promise, though I might get close. For my sanity, this needs to be written. It is shocking to me to… Continue reading I’ve got my red shoes on
The other morning I made the usual drive to drop Daughter off at school. We made our way through the line of cars to the drop off area, and I said my usual morning words. I told her she’s awesome and intelligent. I told her she’s strong and funny. I told her to go… Continue reading Go be amazing
When I was a student teacher, I was fortunate enough to work with some pretty amazing masters in their classrooms. One of them, a wise and hilariously sardonic intermediate teacher who was nearing the end of her career, noticed my leanings towards anxiety long before I had any clinical diagnosis, and pulled me aside for… Continue reading It’s all in the cards
Lately I’ve been feeling pretty frustrated about the attitude that Daughter has had with me. I’ve written about it in a few ways, and I’ve written about ways that I have attempted to handle it. Some of them have been successful, and some have been less so. Even when I have a day or a… Continue reading We’ve all got problems
Elephants in the Room 