Teachers: I Appreciate You, I Just Really Suck at Being Told What to Do
So, it’s teacher appreciation week. That’s basically a test for adults. And I am not nearly adulty enough to have to do specific things at specific times.
Parenting
Rowan Small and Mighty Turns Two: Contents May Include Both Sound and Fury
Two years ago a phlebotomist came into my room at 5 am. She inserted a needle into the crease of my elbow like someone had once every few days for the last two weeks. I was amazed they were still able to find a vein. Nothing stands out about that particular needle stick. It melts together with all the rest of the early morning wake up calls that involved someone standing over me with a needle and vacutainer.
Sometimes You Just Have to Do The Thing: Like Throwing a Party Despite the Anxiety
Have you ever been so stressed out that suddenly you just… weren’t?
Last week I was clinging to the end of my rope by a very frayed thread. Tuesday morning, I woke up extra early. The windows were open, the ceiling fan was on, the birds were chirping, and it was the perfect temperature in the house. It was just perfect. For about two minutes. As soon as I noticed myself thinking about how lovely everything felt, my brain fell apart. It’s not even that I was having coherent anxious thoughts — there were no thoughts, it was all chaotic swirling of overwhelming feelings. It was suffocating and I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I mean it felt like there was literally not enough oxygen in the air.
The Reverberations of April: Pregnancy, Fear, and Birthdays
I still have dreams about the NICU. Two years out and I find that to be one of the most surprising remnants of Rowan’s birthday. Most of my dreams are stress dreams anyhow, though they tend towards scary wizards and plots Steven Moffat couldn’t come up with in his own wildest dreams.
I’m the Mother of a Seven Year Old! So how About a JarJackets Giveaway
The cold I thought I had turned out the be Strep. The nice thing about that is a couple of doses of antibiotics and I feel almost completely back to normal! Last year I had mastitis on her birthday. My body seems to remember that April 8 is a day to feel pain.
Hike-in Camping With Kids – Stupidity at its Finest
I have a group of amazing friends who get together several times a year to go camping. There are 8 adults and 10 children. The first time we went the oldest kids were about 5 years old and the youngest was Lorelei, who had just turned 1. Back then there were 8 adults and 7 kids.
Just Get the Kids to Help and Other Misguided Parenting Advice
My essay, The Dishes Can Wait and Other Lies has had an inexplicable social media surge over the last few days. Once again, I am seeing a lot of sanctimommious strangers saying, “Just get your kids to help clean!”