“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss I’ve been thinking a lot about closing doors lately. With my oldest child in first grade and my youngest about to start preschool, the door to my life as a mother to young children is closing. Our days of…
For all intents and purposes, the summer is over. Technically, there may be another month until the arrival of fall, but since tomorrow is THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, summer for our family is no more. Tomorrow we will begin the clumsy transition process from a comfortable routine to a…
Sometimes I just don’t notice. I don’t notice all the good, all the simple joys, all the smiles. Some days, the complaints roll more quickly off my tongue than the praise. The day’s outtakes play back, instead of the day’s highlight reel. All that isn’t is easier for me to…
I am not a patient person. When I decide that I want something, I want it on my terms and on my timetable. I am a proactive, go-getter of sorts so when I set my mind to something, I expect to put in the work and then get the results.…
Vacation travel with young children is a wild and beautiful creature, unique in its blend of predictability and impulsiveness, simplistic and extraordinary, and our family’s recent trip to Virginia Beach was no exception. Our children are young enough that, as parents, we can still remember when vacation meant sleeping past…
I sat on the couch, my niece on the floor in front of me. “Hold still, honey,” I said, as she started to fidget. I grabbed one section of hair and twisted it around another section. Over, under, over, under until her hair was twisted around itself into a spiraling,…