On Parenting

Last week, I attended this art thing that one of the teachers at my school was hosting. It's like one of those sip and paint deals where you create your own "masterpiece" from start to finish while snacking and hanging out with friends. Only, we didn't just get to work with paint...we also used a lot of different mixed media which put a whole new spin on things. 

Anyways this got me thinking.  An artist starts with a blank canvas, and can put a lot of thought and planning into it, never truly knowing how it will turn out. Parenting is kinda like that.  You plan, and you dream. You make sacrifices, you toil, you teach, and you learn.  You do the best you know how, and you hope for the best, but sometimes you never know what you're gonna get, or how things will turn out...

A Forgotten Benefit of Reading

It all started with a small twitching below my left eye. Let me be clear. It was a constant twitching, sometimes called eyelid tics or spasms, and although it wasn't noticeable by others, it was driving me crazy...

On Fourteen Years of Marriage

Some things you just never forget.

Like what it felt like to own my first car. But I'll also never forget the day I drove away in my second car. It was a used 1991 Honda Accord, and at the time, it was almost ten years old, but to me, it felt new. And exciting! I remember driving off the car lot and feeling a sense of joy and pride. Me and my car! We were going places, and I looked forward to the little things like taking it through the car wash, and driving to places like the grocery story was now no "ordinary" trip because, now, when I walked to my car, in the parking lot, I could admire it, once again, thinking...that's my car!  Over the years, my car and I developed a rhythm. We understood each other. I knew it needed it's regular maintenance, and I knew my limits with my old car. Like how it would almost tremble and slightly shake when I tried to push it to the limits of driving fast speeds.  But through it all, my little old car remained faithful and never left me stranded. Never.  Even when I had my doubts, my car always came through for me.

Being married for 14 years is kinda like that...

A Silly Family Portrait

The last time The Hubs and I had caricatures made of ourselves, it was before Buddy Roller was born. So yesterday, while at the fair, we did one as a family. Take a look if you'd like to see the beginning, middle and end...

Growing Old is Like an Onion

Author, Sandra Cisneros describes growing older like the rings inside an onion, or the rings inside a tree trunk...

Listen to Your Inner Voice

Have you ever ignored that little voice inside your head that tells you to do something? Talk to a stranger who looks hopeless. Help someone you don't know...like a mother walking along the roadside, carrying groceries, with her three kids dragging behind. Offer someone a hug who's been crying.  Strike up a nice conversation with a colleague who nags the living hell out of you. Well this evening, that voice spoke to me. Not once, but two times...

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Week

I'm looking forward to the start of this new TV show next week! Not since Parenthood have I been this excited about a television drama...

Pic of the Day - Dinner and Questions

I don't know about you, but I look forward to having someone else cook dinner for a change. There's just something about having good food (that I didn't make) that gets me excited. That, plus good company and thought provoking questions to mull over...