daily life

Triumph of the Toddler Bed

Triumph of the Toddler Bed

One lovely, fairly reliable thing about hitting a low spot is that things shift, often right away. (Writing about it helps too!) Friends wished that perhaps a year from now we’d look back and laugh about our disaster Monterey visit, but after a what-kindergarten-is-our-daughter-going-to-in-two-weeks freakout and a couple good days with the kids, I already have…

But We Are, Blanche
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But We Are, Blanche

The “no strollers” sign was a wake-up call. We’d managed to Yelp a family-friendly seafood restaurant and then Google Maps our way to it. (Why using simple tools that previously required absolutely no effort is nearly impossible with two kids is a mystery to me, but I swear it’s a real phenomenon.) We buckle the two-year-old…

Asynchronous Bonding
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Asynchronous Bonding

It’s my ridiculous and persistent belief (or hope) that everyone is feeling just the way I am. Liking the same movies, digging the same books, feeling the same way about how the planet is going. The partner, of course, has it worst—all these dreams for enjoying everything together. Impossible, but unshakable. Of course we all…

Ready for Joy
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Ready for Joy

Can I just say, I’m a little sick of hearing myself complain about my kids? Yes, it has been overwhelming, all-consuming, and much harder than I expected. Venting about the surprises, dramas, and relentlessness of it has been useful. As I’m learning from other parents, kids are often a big pain. But it’s insane that I’ve achieved…

Peace
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Peace

There’s nothing like the sleepy, happy quiet that descends after all hell has broken loose, and things are restored. The crying stops, tempers calm down. You can hear small gusts of wind outside, the kids are asleep, and the last purple blue light makes everything through the window magical and gorgeous. Yes, we survived the…

Week One
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Week One

A full week of fulltime foster parenting. Survived! Enjoyed! Endured! I feel muddle-headed, daunted, overwhelmingly thankful. Jay says it sunk in when they asked him to sign the “parent” line for a school form, and he thought “What? Sign as what?” For me it was making my way up the uneven stone stairs with a…

The Camping Box
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The Camping Box

What a lovely bittersweet feeling to dig out the camping box before our recent, disastrous camping trip. The charred cookware, chipped plastic plates, and other musty survivors of outdoor adventures past are like a little hope chest. The wishes and dreams of the naturalist, the visions of perfect forest visits and lovely outdoor excitement, and rest. As wonderful as…

Is There Still Time to Turn French?
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Is There Still Time to Turn French?

After wading through a couple very earnest books on adoption and parent-child attachment, what fun to come across Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. I love this book! It makes the French seem utterly sensible in their approach to children, and shows how nutty American kid culture has…

The Thrill of the Jumble Sale

The Thrill of the Jumble Sale

The Oakland Museum White Elephant sale was just the ticket today: an exciting crush of people stomping through a giant warehouse, celebrating great finds, pawing through toys, furniture, clothes, Christmas decorations, artificial flowers, sporting equipment, and more. I’d never heard of it, but it’s a longstanding fundraiser run by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board. I could barely…