Love Means Showing Up
I couldn’t help but overhear the woman talking loudly in the restaurant about panties. I was out to dinner with my family when I heard a woman say, “Pops, we have big news! We’re wearing panties!!” I leaned to look around the corner, hoping her use of the “royal we” involved a young child. Sure
I felt bad for the car salesman. He was so new to the dealership that he didn’t even have business cards yet and I was sitting across from him having a full-blown identity crisis. He definitely wasn’t trained for what I was experiencing. The day had started very differently. We have a new driver in
It’s prom season, which means it’s time for parents to stay up late worrying. It’s also time, apparently, for teenagers to attempt to renegotiate rules and expectations. Prom time scares me. My whole hope for prom night was that my kids or their friends wouldn’t end up in the local news for any reason.
I was really worried about my kids. So, when the yoga instructor came around and asked which kind of essential oil I would like on my wrist, I said that I would like “whichever potion will convince me that everything will be okay.” She paused and said, “Oh girl, that’s inside work,” which was
After the horrific shootings in Florida, it didn’t occur to me to keep my kids home from school. By the middle of the week, though, I was hearing talk from parents explaining why they weren’t sending their kids to school this week. There were several online discussion groups citing concerns about school safety in
I must confess that I sometimes wonder if being a feminist makes my job of raising girls harder. Sometimes, the idea of girls who smile and nod and do what they are told without ever questioning sounds pretty dreamy. Being a Women’s Studies minor in college prepared me to fight for women’s rights; it
We had lunch recently with an old friend. He asked about my parents and my siblings and after a while, I asked about his. Everything about his face and body language changed. He went from being animated to being unable to complete full sentences. When we got back in the car, I said to
Growing up, we had a friend whose mom lost her mind one Christmas Eve. As I recall the story, the kids were all acting up and fighting; someone didn’t want to wear a tie to church and someone was whining and I’m sure they’d all had too much sugar. The mom, who was probably exhausted
I was terrified about my daughter entering adolescence. I’d heard so many horror stories about the dramatic changes that happen to teenage girls; I was braced for her to turn into a monster. She honestly didn’t change that much. Caroline is still herself—just stretched out a little. She’s still lovely. I should have been more
When I’m watching a cross-country race, I usually position myself near the finish. The finish line is a great place to get dramatic pictures. I also love the cheering crowds and the coaches yelling out encouragement. Sometimes, a coach will yell, “Show me what you’ve got left!” and a runner will find a burst