My mother accompanied me to freshmen orientation. When we dropped into the Honors Department office, everyone turned and warmly welcomed her by name. They knew her because she was a student at the university. My mother and I had a two year overlap in our undergraduate education. She would sometimes swing by my apartment to drop something off on her way home or I would go visit her in the photo studio where she spent a lot of time working…
When I went into labor with you I was completely at peace. Yes, you were technically preterm and yes, I’d never been through labor and knew considerably little about motherhood, but deep down in my budding momma heart I just knew that everything was going to be okay. I didn’t rush to the hospital or even wake your dad, but just spent a few quiet hours with you in the pre-dawn. The two of us peacefully laboring together before all…
We recently attended a kindergarten info session. We were in the 5% minority of people in attendance who brought children. As other parents dragged the meeting on past its scheduled end time by interrogating the teachers and asking lengthy questions about the tenure of the faculty and the extracurricular activities available to kindergartners (yes, kindergartners) our children grew restless. When my attempts to occupy Ellen with my phone failed and she announced “I’m not being quiet right now!” in a high pitched…
I read through countless bios of OBGYNs when I found out I was pregnant with Ellen. I wanted to make a choice that would be a good fit the second time around, but wading through academic histories, detailed resumes, and generic healthcare philosophies didn’t bring me any closer to knowing who to choose. In the end, my decision wasn’t based on shared viewpoints or prestigious degrees (although she has those too), but because she “start[s] every day with a thirty minute…
I cherish the few hours that Cooper is away at preschool every week; it’s nice for Ellen and I get to have one on one time with just us girls. One day the two of us were folding laundry (i.e. I was folding laundry and she was burying herself in it). Ellen stuck her head out from under a shirt and with a dimpled grin exclaimed with pure innocence, “I’m stupid!” I have no idea where she’d picked up that…
The door at Cooper’s preschool is guarded by a buzzer. It protects the little ones from the dangers of the world as it allows the front desk to scrutinize those outside before deciding whether or not to grant them entrance. Or at least that’s the idea. Every morning kids race to the building – elbows out, heads down, focusing like they’ve never focused before. When the “winner” smugly presses their chubby finger to the button, the rest of the kids…
Noel tells me I need to be more positive about being a mom–especially when I’m talking to you. Maybe he’s right, but you know I’ll always tell it to you straight. You are about to hop onto one of the wildest rides of your life. Being a mother is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Nothing could have prepared me for it. You literally become someone new overnight. At times it’s disorienting, overwhelming, and downright exhausting, but it can also…
I’ve been in a bit of a funk the last few days. Maybe it’s because we had some serious potty training regression since preschool got out or maybe it’s because I’ve been sleeping in instead of running or maybe it’s because I feel like I lost a little part of my soul when I finally caved and joined Facebook. Whatever it was, I was ready for it to stop and ready to get back to regular taking-care-of-business me. After a…
9:28am – I just discovered that while I was in the shower the kids ate all the berries and what they didn’t eat they smeared all over the couch downstairs! 9:36am – Well, I just scrubbed it and will see how it dries. 10:06am – And Cooper just peed all over his floor and bed. Awesome. 10:10am – Sometimes I just want to say, “Dear God, Why did you think I could handle this?” Noel: Well, you haven’t killed either of them yet, so…
In spite of having a father that has a slight obsession with bicycles, I’ve always been a little timid about riding my own. I squeeze my brakes for dear life when going downhill and am skittish in traffic. As long as I have a patient companion I’ll venture out and generally have a good time, but rarely go by myself. Noel has gotten really good at riding his bike to do all kinds of errands and quite frankly I was…