Routine Whenever I worry that my middle name is inconsistency, that erratic behavior disrupts my chances at bliss and my children’s balance, stepping outside reminds me that the leaves turn only once each year. And not for 30 minutes every morning. Then they fall and a new generation, long waiting in promise before gingerly pushing…
priorities
Lessons from my children’s first teacher
What I want my children to learn from me Singing is your heart smiling out loud. Passion is that heart getting warm, and flexible, and strong. Quiet is laying your head on a pillow, gently, as though it were a feather on a cloud. Food is a gift we give ourselves, our mouths for joy,…
Reflections, literal and otherwise
After casting aside my poetry hat for far too long, my NaBloPoMo plan is to write a poem — and to take and post a photo — every day in November, spending less than half an hour on both. The hope is to drill down, to focus, to look for and create beauty. See below…
A new view on the hurricane
My NaBloPoMo plan is to write a poem and take and post a photo every day in November, spending less than half an hour on both. See below for links to previous entries including Day One about why poetry? Today we walked in the woods behind our home. Everyone has been so grateful that no…
Confessions of a mostly natural parent
Welcome to the second edition of the “I’m a Natural Parent – BUT…” Carnival This post was written for inclusion in the carnival hosted by The Artful Mama and our feminist {play}school. During this carnival our participants have focused on how mainstream society has affected their natural parenting and how they have come to peace…
What other people tell you about your children
“She’s amazing,” my daughter’s daycare provider said, not a gushing punctuated by an exclamation point but a simple, heartfelt declaration. My heart warmed. I wasn’t looking for praise. Mostly I was relieved that little AJ must have had a good day, her first day of full-day childcare. I mean, how could someone call her amazing…
Ten things I love — and don’t — about summer
The days are getting shorter. How sad. Thank goodness. The children will be out of the house soon. How sad. Thank goodness. We will have to adhere to an imposed schedule. How sad. Thank goodness. In the spirit of being two things at the same time (see the title of this blog!), here is my…
On the road, again and again
For the last month, it’s been neglect the blog or neglect the children. Or both. Today I am at BlogHer ’12, so it’s the kids who are getting none of mama’s love. They are, however, getting thoroughly entertained and spoiled by their cousins and aunt and uncle. Really, I think my son may learn to…
What makes me feel like a parent
The first time I’d heard of a “touch truck” event was in a With the Kids article in the Washington Post Weekend section. Herndon Truck Days sounded like a blast! And the article also inspired me a year later to pitch an article about the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s Children’s Music Festival. It was published and…
I don’t have a village
Welcome to the May 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting With or Without Extended Family This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how relatives help or hinder their parenting. Please read to the end to…
20 years ago today: How I Met Their Father
I met my future husband at a dorm room party on Friday, April 24, 1992. Twenty years ago today. “You were babies!” people exclaim when I tell them this. Yes and no. I was 19, he almost 21. We did, in some ways, grow up together. We’ve seen the world change together, from days of…
Mediocre would be good enough
No one has to convince me not to try to be perfect. Okay, I do have perfectionist tendencies in some areas, but when I read about mothers having epiphanies that they don’t need to keep the house spotless, I feel like I am living on some other planet. One with lots of spots. My floors…
Scattered tea
It makes me sick not to write. There are so many interviews pieces I want to finish, ideas I want to share, moments I want to record. Even healthy food putrifies if it stays in you too long. To not write is intellectual constipation. It hurts. And it stinks. But I feel like I have…
The pull of escape, the pull of retreat
This time of year is always good for smacking me around. Even on a sunny day like today, when the quince and camellia are blooming and you swear it can’t be January it’s so warm, winter is in my bones. And my mom’s too. Right around this time in 1995, while I was doing my…
Now is the time for now
The instant I read the words, I regretted picking up my BlackBerry that one last time before going to bed. A well-meaning relative of mine had read my recent post about my health and my leaky gut problem and told me: “This is not the time to volunteer for things.” She intended to point out…
Mother’s Self-Renewal workshop begins
When a two-hour workshop that requires almost an hour of driving leaves you feeling recharged like you had a nap, I’d say it lives up to its “self-renewal” title! Today was the first meeting of a “Monthly Mother’s Self-Renewal Group” based on Renee Trudeau’s book, The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. We centered, we talked, we…
I have a daughter. That means a GIRL
Baby girl has been a little under the weather, so we’ve been spending more time together — less babysitter, no outings. There were lots of things I intended to accomplish in the past two days, but many of them had to just go out the window. Or, rather, she sat on my desk in front…
A day of SAHMing
Yesterday there was no childcare or playdate. Just a lot of rain. I truly felt like a stay-at-home mom, like back in the day before I took on freelance work or started up a chapter of Holistic Moms. Some of yesterday was full of giggles. Some had me wanting to rip out my hair. I…
Life in a new light
Fall’s draperies have fallen and are mulching on the ground. The woods behind our house are quieter, the tall trees naked of leaves even as deer nibble the green undergrowth. I am astounded by the light. It pours in now, like sleepy eyes that have just awakened. It comes at funny times and at new…
Finding beauty in autumn
Today my son stayed home from school because he looked like hell after our weekend trip to Dallas for the Weston A. Price Foundation Wise Traditions conference. He was beat. Shortly before we got home last night at about 8:00, he had a series of sneezing fits. I knew the prognosis for a child-free Monday…