You know that thing you’ve been wanting to do? Climb Mt. Everest? Clean out your attic? Tailor those pants? Launch that project? Volunteer at the food shelter? I think you should do it this summer. (I know, I know. The kids are home. You’ve got that road trip planned. Work’s insane right now. The calendar’s
Something thoughtful for the week ahead. — Marie Howe, “Hurry” We stop at the dry cleaners and the grocery store and the gas station and the green market and Hurry up honey, I say, hurry, as she runs along two or three steps behind me her blue jacket unzipped and her socks rolled down. Where
One of my oft-asked questions about Scout’s adoption is this: How did you prepare Bee? The answer is layered, of course. Buckle up, if you’re of the curious type. — I will first offer the ubiquitous disclaimer that having children does not make me, by any stretch, a parenting expert. I know very little about
There’s an oft-referenced marketing rule that, to encourage impulse purchases in consumers, desirable products should be neatly organized at eye level, preferably as an end cap. Make it eye-catching, make it obvious. Make it impossible to ignore. And this is why I’ve stopped placing my phone on our kitchen counter. It was eye-catching. It was
My friend Jeanie is an expert in parenting strategy, having studied child psychology in grad school and learning a thing or two from her own six(!) vibrant, boisterous kids. I’d long admired how she manages to set high expectations for her kids without constant nagging, bribes or ultimatums, and a few years ago, she spilled
Confession: I haven’t been a podcast listener for long. I’m not much of a multi-tasker, so the idea of following along with a conversation while trying desperately not to burn dinner sounded like too much for me. But then. Ken and I have fallen into this odd little child-rearing rhythm as of late where I’ll
It’s inevitable. You run into your mother’s neighbors’ aunt at a dinner party and you know each other, but you don’t know know each other, so you fumble into stilted small talk until someone politely excuses themselves to hit the ladies’ room, or refill a drink. It’s enough to make you want to avoid the
Something lovely for your Friday. — Maggie Dietz, “Pluto” From That Kind of Happy Pluto Don’t feel small. We all have been demoted. Go on being moon or rock or orb, buoyant and distant, smallest craft ball at Vanevenhoven’s Hardware spray-painted purple or day-glow orange for a child’s elliptical vision of fish line, cardboard