Re-organizing
I don’t like cleaning. I love having clean and organized spaces, I am just not a fan of doing it. It is not that I am lazy. It is that I’d rather be making, inventing, concocting, building, cooking, baking, creating, or hiking in the woods not cleaning, clearing, and editing. I am pretty good at…
Walking to the library
Every week, rain, shine, or blistering cold, I walk 3/4 of my children to the library. They dawdle, lollygag, whine, request to take the car but more often than not we make it out the door in a mostly timely fashion and stride briskly to our destination. The kids keep themselves entertained as we tramp…
F is for February
I decided last year that February was the month for F words. It was during this month that my fastidiously constructed self censoring wall floundered and my language was once again flecked with expletives that formerly would have been followed by the taste of soap. Although I haven’t fallen into my pre-children range of four-lettered…
Wise words
There are warnings that parents spout that are not true or hardly meant. They are said because you are wanting some activity, behaviour, noise, or many other things relating to your child to stop. One of those classic parental warnings is ‘someday your face will freeze like that’. In the moment, when told to your…
Be aware of the watching dog
If you ever read Charlie Brown comics you can picture Snoopy on top of his dog house, perched at the peak, imitating a bird of prey. I have that dog. She does not have a dog house to perch nor is she a beagle, but she has her own way of surveying all. I sometimes…
Passive resistance
I love my children deeply and dearly, and we spend a lot of time together. I am filled with stories and epiphanies about them that if I shared they would duct tape me upside down to the exterior of the house in a rain storm. That leaves me with stories about my dogs. It is…
The Toaster
This holiday season had me rediscovering the miracle that is toast. Little did I know that the wonder that is a morning breakfast food has suffered because of advances in technology. I have a toaster that you pop in whatever it is you wish to toast, you walk away and do whatever it is you…
Missing
I find that I sometimes miss people that are no longer in my life. Through death, distance, busy-ness, and misunderstanding they are gone or rarely seen. There will be times when I see, hear, think, experience something that will bring a specific person to mind that will have been interested in, given feed back on,…
The Battle
Inevitably, as a parent, you will have some sort of conflict with your children. The parental advise that is frequently spouted is ‘Pick your battles’. I attempt to pick my battles. Select the things that I truly find important to stand firm on. One of my long-term, constantly evolving, happens daily battle is limiting electronic…
The sound of spirits lifting
I don’t think I have ever heard Pachelbel’s Canon in D and not smiled. There is something that infiltrates my brain and rewires my emotions. It is fascinating how music can effect moods and feelings. I know that if I am cooking, baking, or ironing, I need music to dance to. It keeps me motivated….