Real Men Vacuum
On Saturday mornings in my household, we all pitch in to clean and reset the house for the next week. Children dust and organize rooms. I scrub floors and toilets, fold the laundry, and change all the bedding. Real Men Vacuum And my husband vacuums. Then he takes his smart phone with the Grocery IQ […]
Love is a Tornado
This morning, my daughter hands me a little card that says her love for me is like a tornado. She drew a picture of a tornado and wrote, “It’s like this.” I turn to her and say, “You mean it’s powerful and destructive?” She smiles and pretends she’s punching me. She tries to explain the […]
One Way to Say “I Love You”
A few days ago, my husband and I seriously start brainstorming ideas for our Halloween costumes. There’s a lot at stake: we have a party to attend and neighborhood children to impress. I have this genius idea–one I actually stole from a student– that my husband could dress as Colonel Mustard and I’d go […]
Try This at Home
I’m standing in the freezing cold, tapping my foot and sighing. Backpacks by the door. Finally, both daughters emerge from school. As I herd them away from the building, I list out all the things I want them to do when we get home. Hurry! Let’s move, girls! We get inside, and I’m scurrying around […]
How to Get This Thing to Work
My friend just emailed a picture of my daughter swinging on a glider swing with her daughter. On a glider swing, two friends sit back to back. The rhythm required to get the swing moving involves taking turns pulling up against the bar in front of you. If you both try to pump at the […]
The Red Spotted Newt and Marriage Truth
Hiking along a trail this morning, I force my own plans: when to stop to pick blackberries, when to leave the trail and see what’s down the canyon, when to turn back. I have my own things to do. My Eagle Scout husband (who surely knows more) is patient with me when I’m bossy. He […]
Flair with Introverts
I’m learning that flair assumes many forms. Many introverted forms. Forms like puzzles and card games. If you hang out with my husband and his family, you learn these things. So I’m sitting at a card table. The children are playing Go Fish and War and probably some mysterious game called Solitaire. (My husband […]