Finding Personal Rebirth After a Year in the Pandemic
Each year, I declare the theme of a year. It is an idea I got years ago from a friend of mine who always did a remarkable job of declaring the motif that would permeate the following year. He probably spent way more time thinking about it than I ever gave him credit for. But his choices were always profound and inspiring. I used to anxiously wait to see what he would declare the year’s theme to be and jump on board with the enthusiasm of a child in a bouncy house.
This eventually evolved into me declaring my own…
And I am now reminded with each breathe I take.
I never knew breathing was a privilege.
I never truly gave breathing much thought outside of a strenuous workout or when I cry too hard and can’t catch my breath. I never thought that during a regular errand that the right to air, the right to allow my lungs to fill up with air, could be taken from me. I was so naïve to my fellow Americans’ plight.
Breathe.
I long ago came to terms with my own privilege. As a white female with extensive education, opportunity, and success, I know I was lucky. I now know how lucky I…
And he now aspires to be Dr. Dolittle
My extroverted son is slowly suffocating during this Covid-19 lockdown. To say he misses his social life would be an understatement. I am worried about the impact this is having on his emotional well being. And to be honest, I have no idea what to do about it.
We are doing all the things we are told to do. My son attends his class Zoom “Playdates” that I have taken on planning and scheduling for his sake. We do his daily Marco Polo submissions with his teachers and classmates. Both my kids get to Facetime with their extended families whenever…
The unintended companions of motherhood
To my former friends Comparison & Insecurity:
I want to inform you that you are officially uninvited to my life.
You see, before I had children, I had so many ideas of what it would be like to be pregnant and to be a parent. To watch my children grow and the fantasies that bounded through my head were endless. Everything was always light, bright, and beautiful. What I did not expect was the two of you lurking in the dark waiting to enter my world.
As my children have reached toddlerhood and preschool age, you have only made your…
Or just traumatize them with pepper
Being a parent is hard. I am stating nothing new, I know.
Being a parent during the current Global Pandemic has added a few additional challenges. Being a parent to a preschooler during a Global Pandemic who doesn’t quite grasp why they suddenly cannot go to the park or see their friends, woof. I feel like Happy Gilmore at the batting cages, only with no padding.
So how do we talk to our 2, 3, 4-year olds about something as surreal as what is happening in the world? …
I hate sharing my food with my kids, but the idea of not sharing it breaks my heart.
Do you want to know what I miss? Like really miss? Strawberries. I know it sounds weird. And no, I do not have an allergy and I am not on some special diet where I can no longer have them. I miss them because I NEVER get them. Oh, I buy them. 3 weeks ago I bought 2 POUNDS of them. I even bought a carton today! But I have yet to have 1. It is because my children love them and devour them.
You see that is what being a parent is all about. Having the opportunity to have…
How my Pinterest fail led me to hunting gnats during shelter in place
Greetings from the depths of “Shelter in Place,” aka “SIP”, aka Quarantine, aka the Pit of Despair, aka I am stuck at home with my 2 children under the age of 4 and I don’t know how much sanity I have left. We are on week 6+ here. And today, well today was a GLORIOUS day. I stood at my kitchen sink for 20 min methodically and obsessively killing gnats. Fungus Gnats to be exact. Did you know that those exist? I didn’t even know there were different types of gnats. Well I guess I assumed there were probably different…
