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 will become warped, or worse, broken. It takes me about five minutes to change into […]
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 up with, “No! I mean the culprit. I’m the culprit.” Interesting, not just for vocabulary […]
“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 worried she was doing it wrong. In response, the words tumbled from my mouth before […]
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 tap their opponent on the head. It’s hard! And it makes us laugh, dunk under […]
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 done well, but at other times I only saw where I’d struggled. On the days […]
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 I told people how I really feel, what would they think of me? How often […]
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, and it’s not easy. Not unusually, this week yet another friend expressed her frustration at […]
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