Last night I slept for nine solid hours, yet this morning I’m exhausted. My eyelids itch, perhaps from my seasonal allergy to ragweed, (we seem to be growing it the way some people grow corn) or perhaps from the crying that ushered in my nine hours of oblivion. There are so many moments on my parenting journey where I truly don’t know what the hell I’m doing. The last two weeks have been prime examples of parental wtf. I like our new school. It’s charming, and cozy, and grassroots. The teachers seem like good people, and they seem to be…
This morning I left my almost two-year-old son with virtual strangers. True, they are paid professionals who are experts in toddler care. True, I’ve met them a total of three times, and they seem like warm, nurturing, careful women. True I’m paying the institution they work for to care for and educate all three of my children. None of this made Noah’s first day of daycare seem any less surreal. He was a champ. He’d already had two classroom visits, one of them as recently as yesterday, so he got down to playing in the empty classroom straight away. His…
August has been entirely spent with my family and dear friends. How lovely to have the time and the opportunity to build deeper relationships and watch all of our beautiful children play together. How is your summer winding down? There’s so much to look forward to in September – a new school, a new schedule for me with more time to focus on my own work, and on building up my partners’ work projects. The next two weeks will be busy, but I want to drink up every little drop of what’s left of these lazy days with no agenda,…
Dear Parents Who Stay At Home, I realized something this weekend. We need permission to just be parents. Stay-at-home parents need to know that the primary focus of their lives – giving care -is valued enough that it’s the only thing we need worry about. I am ashamed to admit the amount of time I spend feeling guilty for not writing more, keeping house more, offering to cook more, and especially earning money. This shame soup bubbles and simmers and boils a steam of resentment that envelops my day and changes the climate of my interactions with the children, which…
It wasn’t a great start to the week this Monday Morning. I woke up feeling super tired, but was otherwise in a good mood. The early hours, with my toddler bouncing up and down on my belly, eating a banana and watching the Lion King while I dozed, were pleasant. As the morning wore on and more people began to trickle down the stairs, my mood began to turn. What was it? Was I feeling like I have no time and space of my own? Not even five minutes to wash my armpits and try to poop? This feeling is…
