This week I have been painting fences. We share a boundary with no fewer than six neighbours, and all of those fences need a lick of paint. They have been neglected long enough; if we leave it any longer they
The Lies We Tell
On Friday morning last week, one of my children came downstairs with blue teeth. I didn’t notice but the other children clocked it in a second. “Why do you have blue teeth?” one sibling asked. “Oh, maybe because I was
The Sky’s the Limit: getting through challenging parenting moments
Over the weekend, a friend asked me what my children’s ethnic heritage is. (Answer: complicated.) When I mentioned this conversation to my six year old son, he soberly answered, “Human.” We nodded at his sagacity, but he very quickly followed
Bopping to your own beat: parenting without comparison
“Wait. Am I even facing the right way now?” One of my Yoga students this week caught my eye and looked uncertain. Looking around the class, she could see that everyone else was doing something different from her, and she
Moments and moments
My daughter and I have started playing a new game in the swimming pool. The opponents face each other and each person crosses their forearms and grabs the others’ wrists. While treading water, the players wrestle in a bid to
Mind Body Love – wonderful new book for mothers
I’m really pleased to have been invited to contribute to a wonderful new book for mothers called Mind Body Love, edited by Kathryn Pagano and Merle Carver Allmond. My piece, “The Day the Wardrobe Fell,” shares space with some delicious
A Not-Bad Mother
Back when I was new to parenting, each night I lay in bed beside my husband, cataloguing the events of the day, tagging them in my mind as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ parenting moments. Sometimes he helped me see what I’d
Keeping up appearances
I’m the only parent struggling right now. Everyone else seems to be fine. Parenting is such a challenge and I’m part of the minority of people who feel this way. Why don’t my children behave like other peoples’ children? If
Getting out the door with young children
Trying to get out the door with several children in tow should have been one of the labours of Heracles. Whether you’re home educating, or sending your children to school, at some stage you need to be on time somewhere,
The trial and error nature of parenting
Two things happened today that have focused my thoughts on how much we learn from trial and error. First, my daughter and her rocket. It took her ages to build. She glued two cardboard toilet paper rolls together, formed a
