Parenting
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It All Goes So Fast
It was already 9:00pm. June, who should have been in bed two hours ago, was laying pantless on our bed wearing goulashes and a t-shirt, watching Puffin Rock. A more consistent parent might have insisted she go to bed, but as she laid there, I just couldn’t. Sean and I spent the evening sorting through old albums and boxes of pictures. For quite some time, they have been not so nicely tucked away in a big tote whose lid couldn’t even close. Storage wise, it isn’t ideal. And more than that, all of these beautiful photos weren’t being enjoyed. The lull of this endless winter and the knowledge of our…
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Adventures in Insomnia
I find myself awake in the middle of the night more often than I would like. A list of worries, instead of sheep, jump across my bed taunting me. I count them… three, four, five, unable to return to my sleep. Sean, breathing heavily next to me, sleeps unbothered by my thoughts. In the morning I might tell him about the things that keep me up, but for now, I let him carry on in peace. There is nothing he can do for my paranoia anyway. The dark of night always has a way of exaggerating my fears, this much I know. But, I also know that I am not…
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A Long Day
It was a long day. At 8:00, I was already asking June if she wanted to buy tickets to the moon. At 9:30, I called a friend and asked if she was serving wine with breakfast (she wasn’t). At 10:00, I texted my mom and sister that if I had a quarter for everytime my daughter told me “no” this morning then I would be a millionaire. They laughed, but I wasn’t kidding. Naptime came for both of us by 11:00. Maybe we were just feeling the effects of the heavy air outside. My mom always said that weather has a way of changing your mood. After my nap, I…
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Returning Home, Adjusting and Taking Me Back
I decided to do nothing during June’s nap time. It was a bold move. I left the dishes in the sink and the toys on the floor. I laid on the couch and let the hum of the furnace persuade me into a darkened afternoon daze, the first time I have napped in weeks. Since we’ve been home, I have been trying hard to knock items off our massive to-do list. Two and a half years ago, we moved into our home. It’s time to finish painting walls, sanding floors and replacing light switches, but it is always easier said than done. It was with all these thoughts in my…
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Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This
Dear June Bea, I woke up early this morning; the news of last night weighing heavily on my tired body. The hardest part about being a parent is that the world is not the way it used to be. You have changed it for me. I see things differently now because you are here. And so, I sat this morning, watching the news stream live on our television as your dad came downstairs to join me. It was only 6 am and the world outside was still cavernous and dark. We sat across the room from one another, just staring at the screen, the warm coffee a small comfort in…