Pep Talks
Quinlan, age 11, is on the couch, playing a game on her new Nintendo. I’ve just asked Cian, newly age 9, to start a load of his laundry. “What?!” he says. “How do I do that??” Me, calm: “Cian. You do laundry all the time. …
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author. writer. aspiring extrovert.
Family Life
Happy New Year, but Late (and Normal)
It’s the second day back to school–back to “normal,” I guess?–after the winter holiday break. Saoirse and Cian are in school but Quinlan is lying on the couch next to me in the living room, watching Netflix (Alexa & Katie is really cute, by the …
They’ll Have Fun Whether They Like It or Not
Are there any family activities your children absolutely refuse to do with you? I’ll give you a hint what ours is. A couple weeks ago, on a late afternoon after the Saturday soccer/errands run, I suggested to David that we go for a …
Because It’s True
Thank you to those who reached out after my post last week: you people are something else, you know that? I appreciate hearing from sympathetic spirits, and friends, and others who just simply get that life is complicated and hard and say things like Ugh, …
Some Little Lessons I’ve Learned from Pandemic Thanksgiving + Start of Covid Christmastime
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned over this Pandemic Thanksgiving + start of Covid Christmastime: On the Wednesday before your it’s-just-us-this-year Thanksgiving, it’s really nice to cook the big meal with your kids while also not stressing about cleaning the house for company. …
Then Anything is Possible: Happy Thanksgiving
It’s 7:15 on Sunday morning. I’ve just sat down on the couch with a newspaper and the first, and therefore most precious, cup of coffee of the day. Cian’s already here in the living room playing, and he abandons his toys when I sit to …
The Escape Before the (I’m Sorry, What?!) Quarantine
It’s Wednesday of last week, and I’m writing this to you from a pool deck along the ocean in North Carolina. We’ve turned an idea to get away over Columbus Day weekend into a week-long stay in an oceanfront home in Corolla. We took the …
This is Seven Years Old, but at 6:15 a.m.
I shared this to my personal Facebook page on a whim the other day, but this is something I want to remember, so here we go, blogged for all posterity (er, or just for my archives): The other morning, I woke Cian up for school, …