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Tommy’s Bike Ride
“I want to be a part of Austin’s game!” Tommy has been saying this phrase to me for weeks. “Okay, baby,” I’d say back to him. I never inquired about what game he wanted to play or why he wanted to play it. Maybe he meant basketball or capture the flag? I didn’t know. All I knew was that Tommy was usually too little to keep up with Austin and his friends and it was frustrating to him. So when he came to me a few weeks ago and told me he wanted to learn to “ride the red bike” I decided to let him try. The “red bike” is…
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“It Hurt for Me”
I see my therapist once a week. We talk about my life and how to reframe things that are difficult for me. I like my therapist. But an hour a week is really not enough to help me. I think I’d probably need to see her every single day for the amount of therapy I need. Since I can’t do that, I often end up relying on my friends. Last week, I had a particularly difficult day. I think it was because I was thinking a lot about Mother’s Day (why are holidays still SO difficult?) and trying to deal with the logistics of school winding down. It was just…
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Mother’s Day, Year 2
Mother’s Day has never been easy for me. For years – over a decade – I dreaded this day, as all it did was remind me that my own mom was gone from this earth. The first Mother’s Day without my mom was awful. But it was also lovely, in a way, as so many people checked in with me. They sent flowers and cards and well-wishes. I felt loved, even if I was really sad that day. But then came the next Mother’s Day, and the Mother’s Day after that. Gradually, people stopped checking in on me. I grew up, got married, and “got on” with my life. Mother’s…
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One of the Most Important Things a School Can Do
I just got an email from my son Tommy’s pre-kindergarten teacher that made me cry. I’ll paraphrase it here: Dear Parents, Mark your calendars for FAMILY DAY! In lieu of Mother’s and Father’s day celebrations we would love you to join us for breakfast to celebrate our pre-kindergarten families! Coffee, juice and assorted pastries will be served, along with the special bread recipe created by our class! Hope to see you there! Obviously the teacher wasn’t trying to make me cry. But, she did. She made me cry because of this simple act of inclusion. And it made me think this: I bet the teacher was thinking of me when…
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The Worst Book I’ve Read in a Long Time
Dear book club: I’m sorry I’m slamming our book. I know most of you also disliked it, so that helps. But if you liked it, if you got something out of it – that’s great. It’s just that, well…..I hated it. “Girl, Wash Your Face” is the worst book I’ve read in a long time. It’s been slammed elsewhere, which I didn’t know when I started reading the book. So maybe this review isn’t super unique, but I still have to add my two cents. The book, which is a kind of self-improvement book, centers around the idea that each one of us can decide to be happy. As the…
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Zoe Keating’s Concert
Twitter can lead to some interesting friendships. But maybe the most unique one I have is with the cellist Zoe Keating. I mean, we’re not exactly friends – I’m more like her fan-girl – but sometimes we tweet articles and thoughts to each other. So when she came to DC, I had to see her. I mean, I don’t know anything about cellos or really any stringed instrument, but I listened to her music and it was beautiful. Plus, I wanted to meet someone doing something with her art after a terrible loss. You see, Zoe and I are Twitter friends because we both are part of the worst club…
There’s No Handbook for How to Do This
