The fish keep dying. First, Gold Dubloon, a prize from summer camp, who thrashed around and turned sort of gray and swam upside down in manic circles until my husband urged me to take the children to another room. Then his replacement, Scooby Doo, who enacted a similar twitchy death dance on our bookshelf while my husband and I ate a silent dinner and tried not to watch. We waited a few weeks, traveled a bit, came home, and during the first week of school made a Monday afternoon pilgrimage to the pet store for two fighting fish, one black and one orange. We christened them Scooby Too ... [READ MORE]
The Delicate Decisions and the Damage Done
October 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Before Breakfast: "I think I'm going to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween, because Luke has a green lightsaber and I got a green lightsaber for my birthday." "Makes sense. Let's do it." En Route to School: "You know, I saw that you put my Lightning McQueen costume in the bag to give away, but I think I should try it on, because I might like to be Lightning McQueen for Halloween." "You were Lightning McQueen the past two years, Bud. Don't you think you want to mix it up?" "Well, I was going to change my mind and be Luke Skywalker but we already have the costume so I think I should wear ... [READ MORE]
Only Human
October 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This morning finds me pondering the million-and-one tiny injuries we inflict on one another along this journey. The child, testing the power of words, hurls an "I hate you!" across the room. The parent picks the wrong battle -- say, the brushing of the toddler's teeth after a long and challenging day -- and after fighting through clenched jaws and enduring wall-shuddering screams, gives up and puts the child to bed, crying. The child kicks the mother in the shins. The baby bites her shoulder. The mother yells, and startles the toddler. The child yells, throws a toy, nicks the paint on ... [READ MORE]
Party On
September 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Style Board by Jess Davis, The Eagle's Nest The Month of Birthdays continues. Our quiet family celebration, the Spidey-Doo birthday party, a picnic in the park for Babygirl and my niece, and -- coming soon -- a dinner party with family friends...Every weekend lately serves up an excuse to eat cake and drink wine. (For better or worse.) In the meantime, back-to-school activities keep us on our toes from Monday to Friday. Parent association meetings, soccer practice, the frantic dash to buy new cleats because we've outgrown last season's, new nap schedules...The list goes on and on ... [READ MORE]
Riding in Cars with Moms (and Fun.)
September 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Every time Don McLean's American Pie is on the radio, my husband stops what he's doing and turns up the volume. As he listens, he talks about hearing the song for the first time in a Volkswagon Rabbit convertible with his mom one summer, how she exclaimed, "I love this song!" and turned up the volume herself. I do not know exactly how old he was when this memory was formed -- ten, thirteen years old? But I know that not long after she would endure a brief and aggressive battle with cancer, and that she would pass away at age 48, leaving her 15-year-old son with -- among many things -- this ... [READ MORE]
Last Gasp
August 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Board Design by Jess Davis, The Eagle's Nest Lest anyone ever accuse me of getting too maudlin, let me assure you that mere hours after I published my previous post I found myself trying to change Babygirl's diaper, and she was playing a rollicking game of "Oh, Hell, No You Don't!", and there were wipes everywhere and there was diaper cream on my face and I threw up my hands and said (perhaps a little too loudly): "OH MY GOD I AM NOT SURE I CAN HANDLE THIS!" And then I screamed "Aaaargh!!!!" Which started everyone crying. And then my husband walked in ... [READ MORE]
Birthday
August 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Though the Rim fire burns hundreds of miles away, a thick, purple cloud of smoke lay like a blanket over Lake Tahoe as we drove over Donner Pass on Friday evening, the final weekend adventure before back-to-school. On Saturday morning, we woke at dawn to air thick with the soot and the smell of it, the lake barely visible, the sun bleeding red in the sky. Eventually, as the sun rose and the winds began to move things around, it was clear enough for a walk, and my sister and I ventured out with the girls in their various transports: Babygirl in her jogging stroller and my niece snuggled in ... [READ MORE]
