Eyes bright with wonder and excitement, my daughter looks to me to explain to her the many contradictions of the Christmas season. She doesn’t describe them to me that way, but they feel that way coming out of my mouth. At the heart of it is my on-going concern — that my kids will take for granted their good fortune, now and all year. Read the rest of this entry »
In my part of the world the winter is slowly creeping up on us. We’ve moved in the last few days from double digit autumn warmth, to low single digits with many millimetres of rain falling. Our northern neighbours are getting freezing rain, snow and high winds. Clearly it’s time to bunker-down for the true trials of winter: common illnesses. Read the rest of this entry »
I heard him exclaim as he climbed into sight…Mommy? The rhyme ended awkwardly. My blood pulsed with frustration at this nocturnal interruption. Go back to bed! I directed. Then my brain woke up and reminded me that perhaps he had a legitimate need. Read the rest of this entry »
My hair is the part of me Michael loves the most. He uses it to sooth himself, sometimes rubbing his face in it or gently stroking it like some babes snuggle a blanket. But as he gets closer to 3 years old than his is to 2, I see the baby in him evaporating. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve had a number of people e-mail me requesting the prescription for lying-in which I talk about in the September-October 2006 issue of Mothering. The “prescription” comes out of Bridget Lynch’s many years of clinical work, research and post-doctoral writing and I was blessed to have received the lessons as part of my experience. I look forward to one day reading about the history and clinical results she observed, and if and when that time comes, I will write here about where to find it.
I saw a moment a woman interviewed the other day who was talking about her experience of feeling fear and lost after she lost over a hundred pounds. While she’s expected that she would feel more like herself with the pounds shed, what she was left with was the raw truth: it was not being fat that was making her unhappy, it was being lost to herself.
Behind the dresses and tights, the blonde hair and blue eyes and perfectly posed camera smile, dark thoughts bubble in my daughter’s mind — we muse about it as her Goth period.
There are moments when I look into my daughter’s face and see her for the woman she will become. At present she is innocently unaware of her beauty and able to enjoy her body for its strength, agility and dress-up fun. She is able to simply “be”.
Morning should never be T.V. time. Waking rested, bright and full of life I loathe the idea of little spirits getting into the zone of passivity which television invites. Morning should be a joyful, creative, fun time where the family can play while getting ready for the day.
I hear more than the leaves blowing in the early autumn winds these days. As the rain thrashes the soil and pulls at the foliage and its tenuous stems, I hear cries against the routines of Fall. The transition to more serious routines, away from the fancy-free flow of summer is pulling at my kids. And they in turn cling to me, yanking on my heart strings.