-
How a mother should feel on the first day of kindergarten
It was the first real day of kindergarten, and the rain was pouring down. Our original plan was to walk to school, and I’d escort my proud newbie to his class. But instead, I announced that they would be dropped off in carpool and walk in together. There were no tears, no waves over the shoulder, just an efficient evacuation out the back door and heads-down determination not to get too wet. When I pulled into the garage back home,…
-
Morning Garden Walk with Cameras and Kids
It is the day before the first day of school, and we’ve had a summer full on sunshine, friends, light saber battles, and swimming. It also seems to be ending just in time. Earlier in the week, the boys followed me out to the garden and begged to take pictures, so I let them. The baby indiscriminately snapped shots of everything along his path. The big boy was more deliberate. They both wanted to take shots of me. I wondered…
-
Our Furry Girls
Did I mention we got a new kitten? Meet June Carter Cash the Kitty. She has several other names: Junie, June Bug, and just Bug. My five year old usually calls her by her full name. We also have this 11 year old cat named Nala. She’s not a huge fan of June, but she’s hanging in there and is enjoying sneaking June’s kitten chow whenever she gets a chance. We give Nala a break at night and whenever we…
-
Tying Rafts Together
Yesterday I posted the following on Facebook, which seemed to resonate with fellow moms and women in general: If I could give any advice to new mothers it would to tie your rafts together. When the waves get high, don’t cut each other loose. Those friendships are precious and there will be a time when the waters calm and you get to float for a bit and sip your margaritas, but don’t go at it alone when times are hard,…
-
Raven Rock State Park
This past weekend, Joe and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. At the pool this evening, a friend asked me if we had done anything, and before I could answer, the kids chimed in, “Yes, we did! We had fireworks with friends and went hiking …” We gave each other knowing looks. In kids’ minds, “we” is all of us. On Saturday, we went hiking at Raven Rock State Park. It was Joe’s idea, and we had just bought ourselves…
-
Creating an Empire
One of my earliest, most vivid memories is of a field trip I took to Mrs. Hampton’s house, my first and second grade teacher. Her father had constructed an elaborate network of concrete and cobble ditches through the woods for her when she was a child, and there was a beautiful greenhouse. I don’t remember many details except for the magic I felt in that place and wishing I could play there forever. We’ve lived in this house in downtown…
