Someone once told me that you’re not supposed to praise your kid too much. I’m sure there’s some sort of psychology behind it, but I don’t buy it. I don’t think you can praise your kid enough. Not if you mean it, anyway. And if I’m wrong, and it screws them up, I’ll happily pay […]
Sophie has a new habit. She likes to ask me what’s next. It’s better than some of her past “tics” — telling strangers “You’re mean!” or screaming “Buy it!” in stores (my dear friend Robrt’s favorite) — but frankly, it’s wearing. Here’s how it goes: “Mommy, what day is it?” Sophie will ask — before […]
Last month, I wrote a bit about Crispin Glover’s movie “What Is It?” (I’ve seen it twice and I’m still not sure — nor am I convinced the creator knows much more than I do) and talked about the notion of an artist (in this case, a film maker) depicting people with Down syndrome without […]
The girl was struggling with some math. “Hey,” she finally called to a co-worker, “what’s half of $5.98?” I knew it was a bad idea to ask the cashier to honor the “buy an adult entree and get a kid meal free deal,” but there were signs everywhere. It seemed weird not to mention it. […]
This morning I was racing around, Monday-style — trying to unearth suitable items for the lunch boxes and figure out how much Sears would charge to come out and look at our broken (again!) dryer — when I realized that Annabelle was reading to Sophie. That’s not such an uncommon occurence, but I felt a […]
You can throw rotten tomatoes at your computer screen, but the truth is that I didn’t love “Alice in Wonderland.” It’s my own f-ed up fault. I let Crispin Glover ruin it for me. I could blame the fact that, as my dear friend Heather’s 10 year old daughter put it, Tim Burton’s wonderland just wasn’t […]
I have started calling Sophie Mrs. Whatsit. It fits with the stream of questions — I prefer the “whys,” though they’re harder to answer, but it’s mostly “whatsits” — pouring out of her all the time, even in her sleep. (Really! Neither of us has been sleeping well; I can hear her talking in her […]
The wind changed yesterday. Mary Poppins blew out of town. And I must admit I’m feeling rather melancholy about it. For much of February, Mary and Co. took up residence at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, and in a short time she’s become quite the topic of conversation in our house. We’ve owned the movie (on both DVD and […]
