30 Years of Friendship (for #30BrighterDays)
photo credit: Emily McInnes Once a year we convene on a Wisconsin lake to celebrate 30 years of friendship and counting. We strengthen the ties that connect us. And oh my how we cut loose.
#30BrighterDays
A-Okay #30BrighterDays
Sometimes tiny kids wake-up from naps uber-grumps with flaming cheeks and whiny cries. They drink their milk with a pinched brow and refuse to be put down. We used to call those “hard wake-ups.” Monday morning I woke up to my least favorite thing– a dirty kitchen full of last night’s dishes, and no Mr. Coffee waiting. Typically my husband Ben cleans the kitchen at night and prepares Mr. Coffee, but he was ill and coughing all night long. As my body temperature soared, I realized the air conditioner had broken overnight. Naturally I then… Read More »A-Okay #30BrighterDays
#30BrighterDays Mall Lunch
Last night my 8th grader and I attended high school orientation. After the first hour, the kids left the auditorium to have Q&A with some graduating seniors, while we parents got tips from the school psychologists about raising adolescents. The grown-ups asked fraught questions about the behavior plan, drug use and active shooter drills; all of which the staff answered directly and took seriously. Near the end of the evening, my friend Dan–one of the school guidance counselors–let us know that while we fretted over if/how often to allow our kids to go to the… Read More »#30BrighterDays Mall Lunch
#30BrighterDays: gains, losses, and lying punk egos
The 30th Brighter Day! The 30th blog post in 30 days. I have less than 30 minutes worth of one kid’s drum lesson to finish this post before I need to make dinner and head to the other kid’s orchestra concert. Today marks a milestone, in completing a new endeavor to brighten November, and also that I’ve posted more in one month than I do in most entire years. Furthermore I tasked myself with a practice and stuck with it even when I didn’t feel inspired! And!! The process brought inspiration back to me every… Read More »#30BrighterDays: gains, losses, and lying punk egos
Planting Bulbs: On Growth You Can’t Measure #30BrighterDays
Dig a trench. Throw in some bulbs. Cover them with dirt. I’ve never planted bulbs, but I hear it’s simple. Do the work before the first frost, and with luck tulips shoot up come springtime. In the meantime you have frozen ground, growth you can’t measure, and blind faith that results await. I’m in a planting bulbs phase. Each time I sit down to write, each time I publish and share a blog post, another bulb goes in the trench. I don’t know where this leads, and I cannot measure my progress except for showing… Read More »Planting Bulbs: On Growth You Can’t Measure #30BrighterDays
Helping kids write, helping me write #30BrighterDays
My kids dislike writing. Many of the kids in my son’s class do, too. I know this because I assist in my fifth-grader’s classroom with writing twice weekly. The Process Even though I write with some level of skill, I have no solid teaching methods beyond intuition and parenting experience. Those don’t necessarily help when a kid simply does not want to go deep brain-diving for word inspiration, or to try catching the right words in a net, to fish that inventory out of their head, not to mention to then string it all together.… Read More »Helping kids write, helping me write #30BrighterDays
5 signs it’s Sunday of a holiday weekend
The couch isn’t quite close enough to the dining room table. Buddy, my DIL (dog in law) 2. Out of a deck of 44 goddess oracle cards you choose Cordelia whose messages states “You have been indoors too long. Go outside and get some fresh air.” 3. You need a quick snooze immediately following your nap. 4. After a meal you need a dessert. After dessert you look for a snack. After a snack your eyes scan the room for candy dishes just to play it safe. 5. You hear Demogorgon sounds coming… Read More »5 signs it’s Sunday of a holiday weekend
Familial #30BrighterDays
Last night I got my first decent sleep in many days. Thanksgiving feast for 19 was a resounding success; a relaxed convivial atmosphere wherein foil serving troughs blissfully coexisted with Spode china. Everyone cooked and served and cleaned, which made hosting doable and even more intimate. All those hands whisked, served, cleared and washed together who in years past diapered, fed, rocked, and wiped faces alongside me (or, me, in the case of my parents). I love when family and friends combine and it all feels familiar. Familial. If you want to see the biggest… Read More »Familial #30BrighterDays
Our helpers, our harmers #30BrighterDays
Last night I began Thanksgiving preparations. We will number 19 people tomorrow, and that means serious mashed potato poundage. I planned to have at the spuds alone for some deluded reason called habit, but I spontaneously enlisted my 13 year old to help me peel or chop–his choice. He grudgingly agreed, and I figured he’d peter out after one tater. It turned out he liked cutting the potatoes as a knife-wielding/geometry exercise. The work passed quickly and enjoyably?!? Later my 10 year old surprised me by “calling the mashing” as in I CALL THE MASHING.… Read More »Our helpers, our harmers #30BrighterDays
Just Greet Today #30BrighterDays
I used to wear a necklace with the word “downstream” stamped onto a pendant to remind me to go with the flow, and stop fighting imaginary currents. I say imaginary currents because I waste a disproportionate amount of time worrying and stressing about the future, as opposed to the actualities of my life that merit intervention. Regardless of external or internal challenges, sometimes I can tell my brain to pull my legs up into my innertube and coast downstream on the lazy river of actual life happening on its own terms, and sometimes my legs… Read More »Just Greet Today #30BrighterDays