It’s counterintuitive that I like to write, that I’m a writer. I need social interaction to stay sane, to stay out of my head, to experience present moments in the form of dialogue with another. In the presence of other people, bouncing ideas around, dumping, whining, rejoicing, critiquing, I feel alive and normal. Don’t ask for my definition. It’s basic. Normal, for me, is the absence of neurosis. And yet, I write. Alone. While the girls are at school, I’m tapping away at the keyboard … [Read more...]
Monday motherhood: I could never be a teacher so home schooling is out of the question
Mostly, it’s because I don’t like kids enough (mine or anyone else’s) to want to spend that much time with them. Also, there’s my secret life. Another reason? No matter what age the child, I forget that they weren’t born with certain knowledge, like how to make their beds or the distinction between baking powder and baking soda. (What is the difference? And why do certain recipes require both? I bet home-schooled kids know.) I’m coaching Miss T’s soccer team this season and I say things … [Read more...]
Monday motherhood: random summer moments
The girls and I were in the pool today and Miss T asked if I liked being a mother. I answered, “Yes, but only to you three.” I was only half joking. I don’t mind having other kids around, especially in the pool or at the dinner table, but I’m fine when they go back to their own homes. I don’t feel so bad when I’m ignoring my own kids trying to get work done around the house, but I’ll drop everything when someone else’s child needs something. I’ll roll my eyes first (though not so they can … [Read more...]
My Tuesday take: a weekend of scouts, soccer and singing
This should have been Monday Motherhood, but can I tell you how tired I was yesterday after camping, watching soccer in cold, windy conditions, and then doing eight loads of laundry upon returning home? Can I? Did I? No, I was too tired. So it’s Tuesday. The laundry is done, but not quite folded. Raise your hands. How many of you get the laundry folded and put away all in the same day? Not an errant sock or dish towel lying around looking for a home? Your cleaning woman does it? … [Read more...]
A Tuesday take on motherhood: I’m seventeen
Goldie keeps asking about high school. She’s eleven and currently in sixth grade. “Is there someplace you want me to go?” she wonders. There isn’t really. I want her to go where she can continue to excel academically but that challenges her, too. I hope she chooses an all-girls school because I believe single sex education is what’s best for my daughters. I went to an all-girls high school and I know that not worrying about how you look in front of boys does wonders for your grades. I … [Read more...]
On being a woman…it’s complicated
Women are like tricks by sleight of hand, Which, to admire, we should not understand. – William Congreve Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. – Eleanor Roosevelt There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women. - Madeleine K. Albright The post I originally wrote Tuesday in honor of International Women’s Day was sanctimonious and dull, so I trashed it. At the end of the day, literally, all I’d done to celebrate the centennial was to continue … [Read more...]