Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Motherhood is a marathon; we take it one step at a time and vary our stride.
The new school year ushered in some time for me to think about myself again. And not a moment too soon. My daughter wrapped her arms around me the other night and said softly, “Your butt feels like applesauce, Mom.” I realized that it had been some time since I had put my needs first and headed down the Prairie Path for a run. So on Monday morning, with the first golden silence in my head for months, I laced up my worn-out shoes and headed out the door. A new school year is liberating for most parents, and my freedom was palpable. If autumn was an hour of a mother’s day, September would be the time after a meal when your sufficiently stuffed tribe had peacefully left the kitchen. The dirty dishes can wait while you quietly pause …
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Take pause and rest on your laurels; you won't have to put them through the laundry.
If you are reading this column, you have survived another summer with your children. Congratulations! You have endured sibling rivalry, dysfunctional family gatherings and party times with girlfriends that left you saying to yourself the following morning, “Wait, I have to take care of you people again? I thought I was a party diva!” while folding someone else’s underpants for the 12,000th time. You undoubtedly had amazing summer experiences that caused you to gaze at your children like little tomato plants coming into full, ripe redness just waiting to be plucked. Through the bickering, the endless laundry, the stacks of ketchup-stained dishes, you have come through this summer with memories that will last you all the days of your life. …
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Please accept my invitation to be human.
I had no idea 10 years ago, when the name "Mediocre Mom" popped into my head as I was folding laundry, that it would become such a meaningful part of my life and elicit so many reactions from readers, friends and family. Some people take it in stride without a second thought. “Ha! That is hilarious!” they say, and go on their merry way. Some people look at me with grave concern, ready to dig deep into their pockets to pay for weeks of therapy to heal my suffering self esteem. (I heard through the grapevine that a reader once whispered to a friend, “Why on earth does she call herself THAT?”) And still others blurt out what they feel without a second thought. Take my dear, 91-year-old BFF who, upon hearing the title for the first time, …
Lived in 5 other metro areas...
8:31 pm on Thursday, August 25, 2011
I feel your peace... more ›