Oct 10 2017
Long walks. Hyperventilating into a paper bag. Meditation. Locking yourself in the bathroom with the vent fan on high so no one can hear you scream yourself hoarse into a towel. Journaling. Hooking up a barrel of wine to the faucet so you not only have hot and cold running water, but your favorite red …
Aug 25 2016
Despite the sultry temperatures outside, the calendar doesn’t lie and so this morning Jack hopped on the big yellow cracker box to start 7th grade. It was a glorious summer, hot and sunny and fun and relaxing and chaotic and crazy and all things summer should be. But damn, I am glad school has started again. I’m …
Feb 02 2016
If it’s February, it’s winter in Chicago, and I’m again suffering from a terminal case of AAS. It’s cold and dark (even when it’s sunny) and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to sit on a toilet seat again without ending up as a knot of icy goosebumps. Middle of the night potty excursions quickly teach …
Aug 31 2015
And so the school year began. The boys are now back to whatever passes for school for them. J is into his first full week of middle school, and Andy has started the first of his online classes. I’m having only a slight bit of difficulty reconciling myself to the fact that I am the …
Mar 09 2015
When you make a decision, it’s YES or NO in one form or another. When you don’t make a decision, or put it off so long that it’s made for you, you’re still making a decision, you’ve just decided to remove yourself from the process. This is why my ten year old son went off to start …
Mar 27 2014
Two students. Two similar scenarios. Student one: Young, talented musician. Plays the cello, piano, and oboe. Listens to music constantly, on the radio, streamed on the internet, live. Composes in every clef with ease. Is homeschooled so has the flexible schedule to dive deep into the musical interest of the moment. Can create beauty from …
Mar 17 2014
In under a month I will be the mom of a teenager. I’m going to sit here and reread that sentence a couple thousand times and use the deep, controlled breathing I last used during childbirth. In under a month. I. Will be. The mom. Of. A. Teenager. In…out…in…out…ommmmmmmmm…. In under a month I will be …
Feb 17 2014
Because reasons. Because reasons is now my go-to explanation for when life goes pear-shaped sideways and things don’t get done. It’s shorthand for “I am in so far over my head that it would take a couple hours plus at least one bottle of wine to even give you the backstory and frankly I am …
Oct 24 2013
It’s that time of year again, friends, when you toddle on into a school, sit in a wee little chair with your knees in your ears, and are presented with hard evidence of your child’s successes and struggles in school. It’s parent/teacher conference time. I still have a touch of the PTSD around parent/teacher conferences, …
