About two weeks ago I coined the term “Yogapocalypse.” It had been such a lovely evening: one of those sunny, quiet nights when the blackbirds’ throats are swollen with song, the grasses sway like an ebbing tide and jasmine wantonly
Quality Time
Overnight, five inches of snow fell. We awoke this morning to find the world clothed in white silence. Soon, we heard that the local schools were closed. We knew we were having a ‘snow day.’ We have had a wonderful
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
You’re allowed: helping children to deal with ‘negative’ feelings
“Why are you making such a big deal out of it?!” my daughter challenged, angry with me for being upset. I was walking ahead of her, head down, working through my feelings on my own, but ready to burst. She
Tenderising: from resistance to acceptance
The drawers in my mother’s kitchen held many utensils, one of which was a large metal mallet with a squared end. Spiky and sharp on one end, blunt spikes on the other, this was my mother’s meat tenderiser. Tough, sinewy
Doesn’t it feel good to be forgiven?
Several days ago one of my children hurt another child’s feelings. At school she did something that was unkind and it upset another child, someone she actually really likes. When I found out what she’d done, I felt a mixture
Worry
Like most mothers, the majority of my energy is used for my children. Physically caring for them, wiping bottoms and noses, feeding babies, looking after the home, preparing meals, cleaning up after them– this is the hard manual graft of
“You’ll never win an argument with a two year old”
The phrase “the terrible twos” holds no purchase for me. For sure some of the things my two year olds have done are really rather challenging, but for the most part I have loved it when my children were
Rushitis
One of the worst times of day for me is 8.55am when I am trying to get the children out the door on time for the school run. In the morning there always seems so much to do: breakfast, hair
Mother nature hasn’t read that book
I am a lover of books. Several walls of my house are lined with full book shelves. I always have at least one, if not more, books on the go. I’ll read fiction and non-fiction. I’ll read paper books and
