Category: Parenting
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Wherein I Spend $1,179 to Remind Myself I Am a Writer
I have a contemporary fantasy novel that was mostly written during NaNoWriMo 2007. It was the only NaNo I “won” and is the only book I have finished. I worked on it for a while, took a class on how to market & pitch your novel, and by 2009 had decided it wasn’t finished after…
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February in the dark
Two weeks ago my husband and I got into a shouting match. Thanks to Fitbit, I know that my resting heart rate has been up ever since. We’re over it by now, but still uneasy. The actual argument (as far as words hurled) was secondary to our underlying pain and frustration, which might be explained…
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When your reggae-loving husband is a stay-at-home dad
Corey was trying to explain to me his current domestic rut. “You know that song, ‘Smoke Two Joints’? ‘I smoke two joints in the morning, I smoke two joints at night . . .’” Concerned I wouldn’t recognize the song in spite of the fact that his musical selections have created the soundtrack to our…
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Triage
I do not have precognitive abilities of any sort. What I have is an awareness of the many things in my life that are undone or have been poorly managed and an ever-present sense of doom because it’s all going to come unraveled some day, isn’t it? I cannot possibly address all the things that…
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The Nuclear Bomb of Personal Change
I turned 40 earlier this month. That same week, NPR ran a story saying studies have shown people don’t anticipate how much they will change in the decade ahead – their opinions, beliefs, personality traits – even when they acknowledge how much they’ve changed in the past. We can’t imagine our future selves as being…
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The best story from our vacation
We’re driving on I-70 through central Utah, on our way back from a family wedding in Grand Junction, Colorado. Along this route are several scenic view stops, none of which have safety rails or fences. There’s no “nanny state” in Utah – I guess they figure that if you don’t have enough sense to stay…
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Killer Instinct
We’re at our son’s indoor soccer game, watching him wander around the court as if in search of flowers to pick. So far it’s been a mediocre game: two teams of 2nd & 3rd grade boys and girls, some running after the ball, others standing around or wandering like our son. Occasionally someone kicks the…
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Why the baby doesn’t have a name yet
Our third child, a boy, is due in April. My husband and I do not have a name picked out and likely won’t by the time he arrives. With our two older sons, we brought a list of possible names to the hospital and named each baby the day after he was born. A couple…
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The baby’s not in your thighs, Dear.
I’m seven months pregnant and digging deeper into the storage bin of maternity clothes each week. Today I pulled out “the $12 pants” and thought of this story, written about a week before my second child was born (originally posted on my MySpace blog). Monday, April 16, 2007 My mass and/or girth reached some sort…
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I get it, Annie.
Yesterday I dusted off the Footloose soundtrack. After an ‘80s flashback afternoon, I drove home from work with “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” cranked up and on repeat. The summer I was 11 years old I made up a cheerleading/dance routine to that song on my Dad’s front lawn. I put my older sister’s…