After several days of nerve-wracking tryouts, my oldest son, Isaac, made his middle school basketball team. All the players who made the cut were told they would still have to work their hardest to prove they deserve game time. They practiced just about every day after school for two weeks and I heard Isaac talk... Continue Reading →
It just happened again. I had the same conversation with one mom as I've had with several others as summer is ending. "I just feel like we didn't do enough," she said. I responded with "Oh, I'm sure you did plenty," but as much as I can try to convince someone else, I'm having a... Continue Reading →
My husband and I both attended Catholic schools from grades K-12, so when it came time to send our first son to kindergarten, we were a little skeptical about public education. We discussed how in our small classes growing up, we had the same 20 kids every year. Our teachers, for the most part, seemed... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago when a text that said "Be careful" popped up on my phone, it was nice to see. I'm so used to getting the ones that say "Where are you?" and "You almost here?" and "Pick me up in two minutes." The difference in the text that day was that it came... Continue Reading →
For 18 years, I've been living with one man. Hanging one man's shirts. Sorting one man's socks (and picking his dirty ones up off of the floor). Folding one man's underwear. Last week, that man found another pair of men's underwear in his drawer. "These are not mine!" He said. But instead of freaking out... Continue Reading →
For days and even weeks after my 40th birthday, I received apologies. "I'm sorry I didn't get you something special for your 40th," and "Shoot, we should have gone somewhere for your 40th," and, "Maybe we should do something for your 40.5!" What's funny is that despite not opening any huge presents, having a big party, or basking... Continue Reading →
"Man, I'm tired," my husband yawned the other morning. "Anna was kicking me all night long." I just smiled and shrugged. The thing is at 6 years old, she only hops into our bed now a couple times a week, and when she's not there, it almost feels empty. For the first 13 years as parents... Continue Reading →
As the mom of a (mostly) one-income family for the past 13 years, I've had to do my best to find ways to occupy my kids in the summer without spending much money. We've had lots of fun in our backyard with the slip-n-slide and water balloons, and spent hours in the cool basement riding... Continue Reading →
It used to be me who asked. After hours of feeding, wiping, changing, bathing and feeding again, I'd look up at the clock and mumble with gritted teeth, "When will Daddy be home?" In the early days, it was hard. I did everything I could to be a fun mommy. I set up a little... Continue Reading →
When my youngest, Anna started kindergarten, I thought we'd both be thrilled. She had talked all summer about using her new lunchbox and riding the bus like her brothers, and after having been home for 12 years with kids, I was ready for a quiet house. When the time came to go, she walked right... Continue Reading →
