It’s near dinnertime. Cait comes running in through the door from an after-school activity and, as all kids do, drops her book-bag on the floor and makes a bee-line for the refrigerator. She swings the door open, stands there, and peers in for several minutes.
I tell her, “You’ve seen everything in there long enough to have it memorized. Close the door and stop letting all the cold air out.” I add, “When you figure out what you want, then … Read More
My daughter is doing a jig, jumping on her bed in her pajamas, and singing, You know you want to… Uh huh, uh huh. Her arms are flailing around up over her head as if raised in a Hallelujah chorus.
I’m laughing so hard, I momentarily forget how tired I am.
Cait wants me to tickle her. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve had nearly nightly tickle fights since she’s been a baby. But, tonight, I’m just plain too tired. … Read More
Cait has a fear of fire. She seems to have been born with it. It’s been a frequent topic of conversation since the time she was first able to express herself. To help her with this concern, we’ve practiced fire drills at home, we have an action plan for what we’d do and where we’d go, and she helps me replace the batteries in the smoke detectors quarterly. Even with all our preparedness, she still occasionally needs to talk about … Read More
No, no, it’s not what you think. My Kiera is alive and well, and right here happily dozing on my feet. It’s the Kiera from The Oregon Trail.
Cait and I have been playing this computer game she got for Christmas. It’s designed to teach children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life on the trail.
The Learning Company explains: The game helps kids build real-life decision-making and problem-solving skills; they have to choose their wagon party, manage … Read More
Cait catches me off-guard.
“Mom, when you’re having a conversation, are you listening or waiting to talk?” she asks.
“Huh,” I say.
“When you’re talking with someone, are you listening or waiting to talk?” she repeats.
I stop what I’m doing, look at her and clarify, “Do you mean, when I’m in a conversation and the other person is talking, am I listening and really paying attention to what they’re saying, or am I just wanting them to hush up … Read More
Okay, I’m gonna date myself again, but I wonder how many of you remember the “Duck and Cover” drills we had back in elementary school during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The drill went thusly: The alarm would go off throughout the whole school, and the teachers would instruct us to get under our desks, tuck ourselves into as small a ball as possible, and cover our heads with our arms.
Why were we doing this? In case of a nuclear … Read More
I’m someone who needs a lot of freedom; I often find it a challenge to be locked into anything predictable or confining. I prefer to keep things open and flexible–and spontaneous. To satisfy these needs, I’ve always worked for myself so that I could keep my crazy schedule. I typically have several projects going at a time so I can move from one to another when I get bored or burnt out.
Being in possession of such a fierce streak … Read More
…