It’s 12:30 am, an hour past our bedtime. But we just got home from Virginia and I’m all hopped up on caffeine. Since I can’t sleep, I’ll tell you about our saga getting home – Jeff’s saga, actually. If you’re a Steven Martin and John Candy fan, you’ll appreciate his struggle. JetBlue called Jeff on Saturday to say that his Sunday morning flight from Florida to Boston was cancelled. Not to worry, they said. He was booked on the next... Read more
The nice thing about a natural disaster is – Okay, that’s not the most sensitive of openers – well, it’s that you are forced to admit that you are not in control of everything. I spent all day trying to think of ways that it made sense to drive the boys back to Boston tomorrow, despite the fact that we would be passing through several states that have already declared a state of emergency. I checked weather.com all day. But... Read more
When I leave the house, I want nothing more than to get to Point B. I get antsy at stop lights. I’m never tempted by the side-of-the-road sale. I never want to drop in on a friend. I want to get to Point B without delay. Which makes me not that much fun to drive with. Ask Jeff – if you have an hour and a martini. But today, as my sister and I were driving to Virginia with our... Read more
Are you one of the women who spends hours making beautiful baby books for your young? Or are you one of the women who spends hours making fun of the women who make beautiful baby books for the young even though you secretly wish you had the organizational and creative skills to pull off such a book? I was a latter, then became a former-wannabe. I’m now somewhere in the middle. I bought a bunch of pre-creative books (meaning they... Read more
I just read an article in the NY Times about decision fatigue. It turns out that we make worse decisions as the day goes on because our brains tire of making so many decisions. The more decisions you make in a day, the more tired and less effective your brain is. But parenting is all about decisions, yes? Some days it seems like there are thousands of decisions to be made, from the mundane (“Do I make him breathe on... Read more
“Why, Ez? Why have you been insubordinate the last few days?” “I dunno.” “Ezra, you’re a good boy, but you have been disobeying everything I say for the last few days. What’s up?” “Well, everybody loves Zach more than me.” Which is absolutely untrue. And I don’t mean it’s untrue that people like Zach better. I do think that’s untrue, but I’m talking here about Ezra’s flare for drama, which often leads to a flare for lying. He couldn’t come... Read more
Kathiana, our au pair, leaves on the 27th of September, after which I will be the only woman in the house. That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but for me it’s big. Really big. In the eight years we have lived here, I have never been the only woman living in this house. It started with Andy, then Syndi, Jessica, Marnie, Kristen, Becca, Joyce, and now Kathi. And that doesn’t count long-term house guests.... Read more
“Mom, is God a boy or a girl?” Ezra asked on the ride home from taking my mother to the airport today. “Well that’s a good question. What do you think?” “Boy!” both boys shouted in unison. “Well, what does the Bible say? When it says that God made man and woman in the image of God, what does that mean?” “I dunno,” was the reply of someone in the backseat. “What was Jesus?” “A boy!” “And what does he... Read more
I was always more of a mathlete than an athlete. My one memory of childhood athletics was drawing flowers in the dirt when I was supposed to be playing outfield. Well, there are also all of those memories of failing different aspects of the President’s physical fitness test each year. Mathletes never fare well on feats of strength. Wanting the boys to enjoy exercise, knowing how helpful it has been in helping their Daddy stay sane, and seeing the... Read more
I’m too tired tonight to write a coherent blog. Instead, I’ll post random thoughts on our week at Toah Nipi: Sand (or dirt) is perhaps the most important play experience of childhood. My boys have spent many joyful hours playing in the dirt with children in a squatters village in Mexico. No one spoke the same language, but everyone knew what to do with dirt and water and sticks: make moats and rivers and fortresses. This week, they built a... Read more
The Homeschool Chronicles
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