Motherhood
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Indecision is the Mother of…Well, I Can’t Decide
Of the many lovely traits I’ve passed on to my kids, along with the one ear that sticks out too far and my very large teeth (in a very narrow mouth), the one that I most regret is my great capacity for indecision. Or maybe it’s my lack of confidence. I’m not sure…what do you think? (I’m just joking. Mostly. Ok, just a little.) I can get totally tangled up in indecision on the smallest of things, while charging foolishly headfirst into bigger decisions (or purchases.) I’m not sure if it is fear of change, or the unknown, or in the case of changing my Twitter handle and the name of my…
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On Swimsuit Shopping and other Mortifications
My new neighborhood is rife with the activity of new pools being built and existing pools being serviced, signs that summer is approaching. Which, in turn, means I will have to put on a swim suit. Confession #1: I hate swim suit shopping. I would rather walk barefoot through a pit of Legos while listening to Kenny G songs played by tone-deaf 6th grade beginner band clarinets than shop for swimsuits. Confession #2: I have been wearing the same two swimsuits since about 2009, the year after my daughter was born. In that time, I have gained weight, and lost it, gained again and lost again. If you look at…
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On Bullying: the Ultimate Solution
I confess that what I’ve written today was not what I sat down to write. See, I sat down to write a funny story about this one time I went swimsuit shopping. But I can’t write it. Not today. My heart is full of sadness, anger, disappointment and frustration. Since the start of the year there have been three suicides in our metro area. Three teens, no longer on this earth. Three teens so pained that the only escape they thought they could find was to end their lives. I didn’t know these three boys. I can’t imagine the torment they faced to get them to the decision that they…
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It’s Official. I’m Old. Technology said so.
I will be the first to admit that I’m not up on the latest technology present in television sets. Oh, sure – I was quick to try out the iPod, the iPad, the now gone Flip camera (which I STILL use, mostly because I misjudged the amount of storage needed on my iPhone so I can barely have memory for a photo let alone a 2 minute ballet performance.) But I am not an aficionado when it comes to televisions. Once upon a time, I was proud that I kept up with technology as a whole. I’m an early adopter – I had a Palm Pilot when they first came out (do you remember those?) even…
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On Putting Myself First . Or Fifty-second.
I suck at putting myself first. Or second. Or fifty-second, for that matter. Is this a mom thing? Or just me. As I lay on the table at my physical therapy appointment on Wednesday, the therapist attacking my leg (technically, my iliotibial band, which I still haven’t actually located anatomically yet) with what looks like a bumpy rolling-pin stick of evil, commenting on how this really is one of their more torturous tasks – which I would wholeheartedly agree with if I could get my gritted teeth to separate, instead grunting in agreement – and I had to ask myself: “How did it come to this?” From my twenties to mid-thirties, I…
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She is my Poet, He is my Writer.
Complain as I may about over-reliance on testing and “no child left behind” and Common Core and what have you, my children have been blessed – blessed I tell you – with phenomenal teachers and headmistress/principal that put heavy emphasis on the act of writing. At a very young age both my children were encouraged to write, write, write, punctuation and spelling be damned, the focus should be with getting them comfortable with getting the words on paper (as punctuation, grammar and spelling will come in time.) I have always loved to write, but it was never a skill I was pushed to develop in the manner they have. The encouragement…
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Tips on Tuesday: On Cleaning Skunks and Fixing Keurigs (not at the same time)
Monday was a…well…MONDAY in every sense of the word. As in, it was a pretty stinky day. Literally. But, like I tell my kids, every problem is an opportunity to learn something new, and oh boy, did I ever. And I want to share a few tips with you, specifically on what to do when your dog gets sprayed by a skunk. Also, a handy tip on what to do when you get the single lit cup light on your Keurig, which according to the company, if you have done all the recommended de-scaling tips, means that machine is DONE. (It’s not.) These may seem like two very disparate subjects,…
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Always (Ask to) Read the Label
Organic, simply defined, means made from naturally occurring ingredients. Organic does NOT equate to non-toxic. If you harbor any doubts about this, consider this: some wild mushrooms, toads and raisins are all “organic”, but they are very poisonous to dogs. Honey is organic, but can be potentially harmful to babies under a year old. When you are going to try a product for the first time, it is highly likely that you are going to check out the label before purchasing it – even it the claim is organic – to make sure. It stands to reason that, should someone claims that a product being used around children or pets is…
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Finding Purpose and Being Enough
While the rest of the house quietly sleeps, I am cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors. Yes, mopping. I can’t vacuum just yet, because it’s still too loud, even though I did manage to find a relatively quiet one after reading reviews on sites like https://allgreatvacuums.com/best-cordless-sweeper-reviews-for-floor-and-carpets/. My husband hears it from a mile off so I do try to avoid it. I do love mopping though; it’s so peaceful, and as the mop sweeps back and forth across the hardwood, the sponge squeaks softly, the rhythm hypnotic, as I ponder my purpose. Yes, my purpose. An odd thought at 11:30 at night, but so is mopping, I suppose. There really is…
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940 Saturdays
So, my son’s teacher posted this on his classroom blog a few weeks ago. Ponder this for a moment…. No, pressure, right? For the perfectionists and/or doubters out there, okay, I haven’t actually sat down to do the math, but whether or not the count is accurate (ignoring leap years and such), the point hits home. And hard. * * * * * For us, Saturdays are busy days. The “get-a-haircut/run-to-the-dry-cleaner” days. Soccer games. Paying bills. Now, this is kinda random, but I had to mention this as my brother recently got caught for not paying his mortgage on time. As a result, he’s got a ridiculously low credit score.…
