“Kathy, your son just drove away with my car,” said my husband, laughing, as he came in the front door after mowing the lawn. We looked at each other in disbelief that the same child who spurred us to purchase the black Camry is now driving it. Even if it’s just to my parents house six blocks away. Neither one of us would be comfortable with him driving it much … [Read more...]
At the Hospital With Dad: the Harder Realities of Getting Older
Thursday found me and my 18-year-old son wandering the halls of the hospital’s cardiac care unit. My father had arrived via ambulance six hours earlier. We both must have had that lost puppy look because a nurse asked us who we were looking for and then told me my dad had just arrived and gave me his room number. We walked into my dad’s room to find my mother, sister, … [Read more...]
The Movies That Sum Up Our Parenting Adventure
Before we became parents, my husband and I spent most Saturday evenings cuddled up in a movie theater enjoying the newest release. As each of our three children was born, our movie dates became less frequent. Thanks to cable and our DVR, we can still count on a movie to take us out of our parenting roles, if only for a few hours. Whether it be a drama, comedy, action … [Read more...]
Things I Know for Sure About Raising Children After 18 Years of Motherhood
After being a mother for eighteen years, twelve as the mother of three, there are some things about raising children that I just know to be true. These include the following: A child can take a shower for over an hour and not only not wash his hair, but somehow miraculously not even get it wet. This same child can water the flower garden and not get one plant wet, yet … [Read more...]
Our Nest is Not Empty, Just Rearranged
When my husband and I were getting ready to have our second child, we read everything we could about preparing our three-year-old for his baby sister’s arrival. We followed the experts’ advice and had him pick out a present for her. We had him select a picture of himself, so we could tape it to the baby’s hospital bassinet. He had his “I’m a Big Brother” t-shirt ready to … [Read more...]
