I guess I was looking for a tally mark in the "good mom" column when I bought the video. Remember when I revealed all my early motherhood delusions? I mentioned our Spanish Barney days. Back when my boys were preschoolers and I was a hyper-vigilant mom who didn’t want to waste a moment of opportunity, who wanted to give my boys the best head start in the world, but I didn’t want to take them to preschool (confining!). I bought a VHS video of Barney entirely in Spanish. Because I had two … [Read more...]
Tell Me Somethin’ Good
There are two radio shows that air during my afternoon 20 minute mom-taxi trip to town. On each station, at 5 to-the-hour, the news is reported. For five minutes the hapless reporter force feeds horrific headlines, updates on things you wish you’d never heard, and the incessant bickering of the entire world. Some days, I just can’t ingest any more of it. And while that might make me an emotional wimp, I know I’m not the only one who sometimes feels like we’re drowning in bad … [Read more...]
A Baby with Power Tools (aka. a cell phone)
Dear Son, You already know how excited I am (not) to give you this cell phone. For several years my response to your continual badgering has been, “You can get a phone when your dad and I need you to have one.” Good news and bad news, Son. We need you to have one. This is good news because you will think your greatest longing and wish has been fulfilled. But it’s bad news, because we’ve essentially put a power tool in the hands of a baby. In my mind it conjures up images of a toddler … [Read more...]
To Obey is Better than Sacrifice: A Modern Day Parable from My House
About a week ago, I was super nerved-up over a multitude of tasks that are taking me a painfully long time to complete. To add insult to injury, the boys were arguing vehemently over totally inconsequential stuff. Like the exact shape of Kevin Durant’s logo. The precise lyric of a Tim Hawkins parody. Who’s fishing lure got dropped in the lake. They went round and round, name-calling, bet-making, and demanding I settle meaningless disputes. (Not only do I not care about Kevin … [Read more...]
Turtle in a Bucket: An Announcement
The first time my boys captured a painted box turtle and put it in a five gallon bucket, I felt like I had hired a babysitter. For free. For hours the boys watched that poor turtle try to claw his way out of that bucket. He was picked up, turned over, and dropped. Occasionally they’d dash into the house for a handful of lettuce, grapes and even animal crackers, to see if they could coax their captive babysitter into eating something right before their very eyes! The turtle wasn’t … [Read more...]
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