Category: parenthood
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To love a child
If you could relive a single day what would it be? Today, a week after my son’s wedding, I’d chose a magnificently ordinary day: He would be 5 or 6, young enough to still call me Mama. Old enough to ride bikes to the Library. Past Jefferson School. Past the Brunner’s house. To the downtown…
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I blinked
Wasn’t it yesterday that we forgot the chicken in the microwave? That day when the nurse called to tell me that my strep test came back negative, but my pregnancy test came back positive, and in our delirious excitement we neglected the chicken thawing in the microwave for dinner, forgot about it until breakfast, and…
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Got kids? You’ll have regrets.
I had bought into a lie. Subconsciously, but fully. Maybe you have too. It has to do with motherhood and regrets, how those two things shouldn’t be paired together. Somehow at some point I believed (without recognizing I believed it), that if I were a good enough mom, I wouldn’t/couldn’t/shouldn’t/ have regrets. Wishful thinking but…
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Just Keep Writing, Writing, Writing
When it comes to writing, I’ve been in a literary desert. It’s been months since I’ve written anything beyond a grocery list or Facebook status and even though I’d like to think I left it all on the field to get The Ground Beneath Us finished and released last fall, that’s kind of a convenient…
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I Didn’t Want to Homeschool
This week I’ve put on a new hat: homeschooling mom. I must admit, for as much as I have admired home-schooling moms, for as much as I’ve loved (and been impressed with) the home-schooled students I’ve taught and tutored over the years, I did not want to be a home-schooling mom. Last year, the summer…
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What About Dad
I love all the “mom” commercials that interrupt the Olympic games, lovely little montages of sacrifice and support that make us all reach for the Kleenex. Moms should be recognized because you know they did a ton to get their kid where she is, but I do believe we’re missing someone, someone equally important: Dad.…
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Why My Children Can’t Do Everything They Set Their Mind To
Before I type another word, let me say this: I think my kids are intelligent, witty, sweet, gifted, tenderhearted, emotionally sensitive, athletic, resolved, hilarious, thoughtful, adaptable, and more and more and more. My aspirations for them are nothing but high. They have and will, no doubt, continue to amaze me, I’m confidant they will do…
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When Did We All Start Smiling in Photographs?
The people in old photographs rarely smile. Have you noticed? Here’s my theory: They didn’t know yet they were supposed to look a certain way, give off a certain vibe. They just… were. Here we are, in our Sunday best. Wearing the same tight-lipped expression as always. I don’t walk around smiling all day. This…
Rachel Allord 