Scene: a grim, slushy, rainy day in Mud Season. I’ve got PMS and the late winter blues. Now I’m staring down a long afternoon alone in the house with two cranky sisters who can’t stop fighting. How to avoid our usual cycles of sibling squabbles and snappish mom interventions? Answer: conduct a “science experiment!” I’m [...]
Entries Tagged as 'children'
The Marshmallow Test
March 29th, 2011 5 Comments
Tags: children · David Brooks · Marshmallow experiment · The Social Animal · will-power
Another Planet
January 21st, 2011 4 Comments
January brings a sweet relief, a welcome return to school, work, and Bunny Noodles– the blessed routines that keep parents sane despite their mind-numbing monotony. I’m back in Vermont after a fleeting visit to the Twenty-Something universe of my younger siblings. While I love them all dearly, I can’t help dreaming of the day when [...]
Tags: child-free envy · childless · children · nostalgia · Parenting · twenty-something
Daddy’s Soap, & other adult stories
September 21st, 2009 No Comments
WARNING: This post contains explicit material that may not be family-friendly. Small children are fascinated by adult stuff. Forget fancy, pricey, age-appropriate toys. My 4-year-old would prefer unlimited access to a roll of Scotch tape and a box of business envelopes than a Playmobile Flower-Fairy Treehouse. “Mommy, I just need a little piece of tape,” [...]
Birthday Season
July 29th, 2009 7 Comments
It’s high midsummer and the sun has come back from her vacation in Seattle, or wherever she went while New England suffered the wettest, dimmest June on record. The pool water is finally warming up and blue-lipped kids can stop shivering on the side, protesting their swim lessons. Past the Solstice, past July 4th, the [...]
Tags: children · death · growing up
Cabin Fever
February 28th, 2009 3 Comments
I used to be a winter person. One of those cheerful types who rejoiced at every blizzard, relished the extreme cold, and jumped at the chance to shovel the roof. When others lamented the harsh weather, I inwardly rolled my eyes– why didn’t they move to Florida and stop complaining? I cross-country skied, snow-shoed, telemarked, [...]