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This is Childhood: A Book Review and Interview with Galit Breen

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In my 15 years of being a mom, there have been so many days when I just wanted to stop time and bottle up the feeling of a having a sticky two-year-old hand holding mine or getting a big toothless grin meant just for me from a seven-year-old who is so proud of missing front teeth.

I’m really glad I started my blog three years ago because sometimes it’s only when I go back to an old essay that I remember a funny question one of the kids asked me, or a sweet moment that is buried underneath my memory of who has to go to the orthodontist tomorrow and who needed a form filled out yesterday.

Moms are busy; sometimes we need a little push to help us remember the sweet moments of each age. I miss the magic of those sweet days before the tween and teen years arrive and convince the kids that mom and dad really don’t know best.

Leave it to Marcelle Soviero and Randi Olin, the editors of Brain Child Magazine, to create a book filled with wonderful essays from some of today’s best bloggers and writers about parenting. This Is Childhood begins with This is One, by Aidan Donnelley Rowley and ends with Lindsay Mead’s essay, This is Ten.

In between each writer shares memories and sweet spots of each age. Nina Badzin writes of how she finally found her stride as a mom when her first child hit three. As her son began to do more for himself, she started feeling more confident and competent as a mom.

In This is Six, Bethany Meyer writes of her love of the age at which her child still believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. And she writes about a six-year-old’s ability to see the world with an open mind and having a fuller heart because of it.

Each author writes a love letter to the age they’re writing about. It made me remember some of the sweetest memories of my three kids.

What I think makes This Is Childhood a little different from your average parenting book is that at the end of each essay, the editors pose a question. For example, in This is Nine, author Denise Ullem is asked, “At age nine, did you see hints of the older person your child would become?” The same question is posed to the reader, with journal pages provided to write the answer.

Whether you’re looking for a gift for your friend who is expecting her first child, your sister who is swamped with homework, soccer matches, and hostile teenage attitudes, or your mom, this book will make them smile, laugh, and cry with each chapter. It will also remind them of their childhoods.

When I was given the chance to review ThisIs Childhood, I jumped at it, not only because it’s from the editors of Brain Child Magazine, but because it contains essays from some of my favorite writers and bloggers, including Kristen Levithan, Allison Slater Tate, Tracy Morrison, Amanda Magee, and Galit Breen.

As luck would have it, I’ve had the good fortune of getting to know Galit Breen this year because we both had essays in The HerStories Project. I even had the fun of sharing with her the strangest place I ever nursed for her column in All Parenting.

Galit has had essays published in several anthologies, is the editor of Pens and Paint, a series anthology of children’s poetry and is a freelance writer for Soleil Moon Frye’s Moonfrye, Everyday Family, Mamalode Magazine, and The Huffington Post. Galit also co-directs the Twin Cities edition of Listen to Your Mother and blogs at These Little Waves

I loved Galit’s essay, This is Four, in which she shared some of the moments she has had going through this age for the last time with her third child and only son, Brody.

She graciously agreed to spend a little time with the Dishwasher.

Galit as a mom of three who has lived through this age three times now, what is it about four that you find so appealing? What about age four do you find to be the most challenging?

I’m in love with the creativity and the wild abandon of words and imagination and play that come with this age. And I find the fierce strive for independence to be in-the-moment hard.

Your two previous times dealing with age four, you were raising girls, how was four different with a boy?

I think with my girls I thought I would know what to expect — the twirly dresses and curly ribbons and long dance parties. With my little guy, I wasn’t sure I’d know what to do with a boy! I went into each of those first few years with him more confident as a mom, but a little cautious and unsure about mothering a boy. But it turns out that so much is the same — from the skinned knees to the sweet hugs and even to the (extra) long dance parties!

This is Childhood deals with ages 1 through 10. Is there one age that you found to be especially challenging each time one of your kids reached it?

Someone once told me that kids ebb and flow between delightful and difficult every six months — so trying periods are followed by breath-easy ones. I’ve found that to be so very true with each of my kids! So the most challenging times have been when more than one kid has been in the trying six months at the same time!

What do you want people to take away from this book?

My hope is that readers flip through the pages of the book and see that every age has its magic. I lean on the sappy side and mourn how quickly time passes. But each essay is such a stunning reminder that there’s so very much goodness to look forward to!

Many thanks to Galit for talking about This is Childhood with the Dishwasher.

And just for a bit more fun, the editors of This is Childhood are giving away a copy of their great book to one of the Dishwasher’s readers. Just leave a comment and you are entered in a drawing. This contest will end midnight on Saturday, May 10,  and the winner will be announced on the Dishwasher on Sunday, May 11.

But if you can’t wait, (and I don’t think you should!) you can order it right Here

 

* I was given an advance copy of this book. No other compensation was provided and as always, all opinions are my own.

 

 

Comments

  2. Lindsey says

    Oh, thank you for this generous review and also for this terrific interview with Galit!! I read somewhere about the ebb and flow of delightful and difficult (what a great way to think about it) every six months also, and I still remember that. I also tell myself: everything – the good and the bad, ALL of it – is a phase. It all passes. Which, of course, is ultimately at the heart of all that’s bittersweet about parenting and life itself!! xoxo

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Lindsey I really loved the book and your essay, This is Ten. I love what you say about it being a “blink and you’ll miss” time! Happy Mother’s day!

  3. Nina says

    What a treat to read this review! Thank you for reading the book and for taking the time to post about it. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and we so appreciate the recommendation to others!
    Nina recently posted…My Month of Corepower YogaMy Profile

  6. denise says

    Hi Kathy! So nice to meet you, and read your incredibly thoughtful and lovely review of our book. Thank you so much for your kind words and for this great interview with the one, and only, sweet Galit. I, too, love the thought of ebb and flow. When we’re ebbing, it’s hard to remember the ease of the flow but thank goodness it comes. Thanks again!

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Nice to meet you too! Denise I loved your essay. My youngest just turned 9 so I read your piece with a few more tears, especially the part when you tell your husband your half way done since you only get her for 18 years! It really goes way too fast!! Happy Mother’s day!

  7. Estelle says

    This looks like a wonderful book chockfull of writers and bloggers, like Galit, Nina and Tracy who I admire.
    Estelle

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Kathy I really loved it! And I too have loved something about every age so far, even the teen years! But there is something super magical about the first 10 years. Much love to you!!! Happy Mother’s day! xoxo

  9. Linda Roy says

    So true what Galit says about each year holding special moments! This book sounds wonderful. I’ve got two boys, ages 14 and 8, and I’d love to read it as a reminder of those wonderful times and to read about others’ experiences with their children at that age. What a terrific group of authors!
    Linda Roy recently posted…Song Parody: It’s Not Mother’s DayMy Profile

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Linda having a 15 year old (among my 12 and 9 year old) I have to say, I loved thinking back to how my first was at each of these ages, especially since he is driving us nuts right now!!! I loved it and know you will too!! xoxo Happy Mother’s day!

  11. Lisa says

    Oh, this sounds like a book I definitely need to read. Everyone involved is so incredibly talented. And I enjoyed the interview with the lovely Galit Breen, who I was lucky to meet in person a few weeks ago. Nice job!
    Lisa recently posted…My Weekend with ErmaMy Profile

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Well first let me say I’m jealous you got to meet Galit in person!!! Thanks so much for popping over. I really loved the book!! Happy Mother’s Day!! xo

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Thanks so much Ashley. Galit is just great and her essay is really lovely. In fact they all, I really loved this book!! Happy Mothers day! xoxo

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Meredith I really loved it, and really loved the questions and writing prompts. It makes a great baby book!! Thanks so much and happy Mother’s day!

  16. Emily says

    Kathy, this is such a lovely review. It makes we want to dive right into this collection. I love the idea behind the work–spanning different years of childhood. And you are so right about being grateful for our own blogs to remind us of little moments that are lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday living. Thank you for sharing your insights on this anthology. I look forward to diving in!

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Emily thank you so much, you are so sweet! I really enjoyed it, maybe because my last baby is nearing the end of the magic years!! xo

  18. Notsosupermom says

    Kathy this sofas like an awesome book! I too, seem to forget a lot (TOO MANY!) of those moments that you think you will always remember at the time.
    For me, having a toddler now does sometimes bring me back to the days when Moo (12) and Slim (9) were little, but I know so much has slipped through the cracks of my memory!
    This seems like a great way to revisit some moments with our own kids.
    Notsosupermom recently posted…I Am Mom, Hear Me SnoreMy Profile

    • Kathy Radigan says

      It is amazing how much we forget!! And it does all go so by so quickly, that is why I love having three kids, with my first two I was still working the kinks out, with the 3rd I was so much for more relaxed with and since I knew it was my last time i really do cherish things a bit more! Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Mother’s day!

    • Kathy Radigan says

      Amanda I loved your piece!! And you are right, it is fun to peak in the door of the future ages. I have found that each time I have gone through an age there are things that are the same and things that are very unique to each child. Motherhood is really a trip!! Thanks so much for coming by. Congratulations on the book!

Much thanks to Joseph Radigan, who besides being a great husband and father, also uses his talents to gently and ever so tactfully edit my blog. Joe is a business editor at Thomson Reuters in NY.
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