This morning the girls and I were cuddling in bed, and I was stalling, waiting a few more moments before starting our suddenly upside down day. Annabelle is home sick; she woke up in the middle of the night with a fever that wound up being yet another bug that’s going around. That meant: cancelling school; […]
I wanted to write about the science fair today, or maybe how I’m mad at the PTA, but I figure it’s best to get all the really sad stuff off my chest now. The bad pun’s intended, sort of. These days, it’s all about lungs. For a while, in our house, it was all about hearts. […]
In the past week, Annabelle has talked about (and, I’m guessing, thought about) Down syndrome more than she has in her entire 7 and a half years. The science fair project is due tomorrow (don’t ask if we’re done — though we are finished with Sophie’s rock collection, entitled “Sophie Rocks”) so I’m guessing the […]
Just yesterday, my boss and I were rolling our eyes over all the writing contests we’re forced to enter each year — that endless search for approval in the subjective world of journalism. (Not so subjective now that you can count web hits — a dangerous direction. I’m fairly certain I have colleagues who sit […]
“Gosh, I didn’t expect to cry,” a mom said, wiping her eyes as we walked out out of the school cafeteria after the kindergarten holiday show. “Yeah, I know,” I mumbled, grateful it was dark so she couldn’t see my own dry ones. I actually had expected to tear up, had packed extra Kleenex, but […]
The other day, I wrote about an event (the light parade down Mill Avenue) that exceeded expectations. So it’s only fair to share the dark side of the weekend. Well, not so dark. But definitely on the darker side of pink. It seemed like a great idea to take Annabelle, Sophie and their 5 year […]
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things, including a man named Robert Polk. I didn’t know what to expect, when I decided to start this blog on Sophie’s fifth birthday. Ray (who rarely, if ever, reads the blog — who can blame him, he lives it) announced immediately that it would go viral. I knew […]
Ms. X did not sound pleased. “Sophie had a really bad day today,” she said. We were on the phone, but I could see her shaking her head. Sophie was out of sorts all day, in ball buster mode, totally stubborn. Refused to come in from the playground, wouldn’t listen to directions. “Oh, and she […]
So I’m doing this reading tonight. Don’t be offended because I didn’t invite you. I didn’t invite anyone, not really. I screwed around on Facebook, trying to post something, but I’m not sure that worked. Anyhow, I’m doing this reading. I’m reading the original version (with some tweaks) of the piece I did for This American […]
A couple days ago, the Glo-Worm emerged from the pile. It happens sooner or later with all toys in our house — they show up, poking out from a basket or under the couch. Sophie pressed the worm’s belly, and it a played a song. Instantly, I was in a dark hospital room, pressing that belly […]
