Today I am pleased to welcome my neighbor Maureen of IslandRoar for a Friday morning chat. Visiting Maureen’s blog, where she discusses “the significant, the mundane, and the downright absurd,” is like sitting down for a cup of tea with a wise friend. She writes with a deft and delightful touch, alternately bringing a smile [...]
{ 25 comments }
Okay, please tell me I’m not the only one who does this… On Tuesday, SuziCate wrote a hilarious post about playing up her Southern accent at her new church to avoid making a potentially embarrassing situation even worse. Her post got me thinking about my own tendency to take on the accents of the people [...]
{ 48 comments }
I have been in five book clubs since graduating from college and I still haven’t quite figured out what they’re all about. My first book club was a pleasing melange of my work and college friends. We were all young and living in New York, and enjoyed our monthly meetings over dinner and wine at [...]
{ 68 comments }
There’s a whole lotta house-sitting going on this week. Holding down the fort chez Motherese is one of the wisest, wittiest women in the neighborhood: The Kitchen Witch. I love to drop by her place for a plate full of levity-laden truth. Kitch can write like nobody’s business, and her sense of humor is as [...]
{ 29 comments }
I thought I made a mistake yesterday. A big one. A mistake that would have cost me some money and more time. As it turns out, the oversight I made was one without consequence and my worry was misplaced. But the incident – and the fact that I spent so much of the afternoon mulling [...]
{ 52 comments }
Today is Ash Wednesday, a traditional day of repentance and the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. I spent the Ash Wednesdays of my youth girding myself for 46 days of Going Without. My childhood Lenten promises, like my New Year’s resolutions, were usually those that involved a Giving Up. No chocolate. [...]
{ 34 comments }
I realized this weekend that I am not cut out to be a single parent. Husband was away for four days (that’s right, including Valentine’s Day; who said romance dies after marriage?) and I faced my first nights alone with the boys. That’s right (again), I am embarrassed to admit that, until Friday night, I [...]
{ 40 comments }
Today it is my pleasure to welcome Amy Whitley of The Never-True Tales as my first house-guest in my new place. In addition to serving up witty and wise reflections on her life with three sons at The Never-True Tales and helpful tips for traveling with children at Pitstops for Kids, Amy is also the [...]
{ 12 comments }
Last month I shared some of my concerns over Big Boy’s nervous behavior during what was supposed to be our trip to Disney World. A comment on that post by The Absence of Alternatives has been ricocheting around my head ever since: I read this post and I thought, “We went through the same thing!” [...]
{ 43 comments }
Welcome to the new, and hopefully improved, Motherese! What do you think? While you’re here, take a look around. See something funny looking? An entire post filled with HTML gobbledygook? Please let me know! Before you go, please take a moment to subscribe to Motherese via an RSS feed or e-mail. You wouldn’t want to [...]
{ 57 comments }
I am honored today to offer you a post from Lindsey at A Design so Vast. Lindsey is not only one of my favorite bloggers, she is also one of my favorite writers. I found Lindsey’s blog last summer and was immediately drawn in by her honesty, her insight, and her beautiful writing. With bravery [...]
{ 18 comments }
A recent article in the New York Times captured my attention, not only for its subject matter, but also for the comments that it drew. In “How to Speak Nanny”, Hilary Stout explored the uneasy relationships that exist between many working mothers and the women they hire to care for their children. According to Stout: [...]
{ 41 comments }
On Friday, Big Little Wolf posted a passionate and provocative piece about the value – both monetary and metaphysical – of parenting. Both the post and a comment by my buddy Jane – about an article she had read attaching a dollar value to the job a mother does – buzzed around my brain for [...]
{ 15 comments }
Last Friday I was pleased to share with you a piece by Elizabeth Grant, one of the “21st Century Penpals” behind one of my favorite blogs, Life in Pencil. In today’s edition of Won’t You Be My Neighbor, I am delighted to welcome Elizabeth’s partner-in-blog, Anne. Anne captured my attention immediately by outing herself as [...]
{ 17 comments }
As I have mentioned before, Tiny Baby is not a fan of tummy time. Put him on his tummy and he becomes irritated. Ornery. Sometimes he’ll push up and roll over as quickly as he can. Other times, he’ll surrender to gravity, burying his face in the blanket, admitting defeat. Not surprisingly, Tiny Baby’s aversion [...]
{ 27 comments }
My beloved DVR, It is customary in these parts to reflect on love at this time of year. On its pretty promise and prickly possibilities. I have known love; for I have known you. DVR, you had me at “Scheduled Recordings.” You had me at “Series Manager.” You are everything that I dreamed a Love [...]
{ 27 comments }
Dear friends, I am honored to be guest posting today at A Design So Vast. Thank you, Lindsey, for sharing your space with me. Please click over to read my thoughts on different shades of worry and finding safety through well-worn faith. Then stay awhile and revel in Lindsey’s beautiful prose. Love,Kristen
{ 0 comments }
I think a lot about the ways in which spending so much time online might compromise our relationships with the people we know in real-time. But what about the people we don’t know? The larger community of mothers with kids who could use a seat, or strangers carrying trays full of hot coffee? During some [...]
{ 25 comments }
A Belated Valentine from You to You
Feb 15
One of the unanticipated gifts from my foray into the blogosphere is the treasure trove of parental wisdom that I’ve discovered here. In sharing your own experiences as parents, as children, as adults, and as teachers, you have inspired me in ways both large and small. While pondering how I might honor the spirit of [...]
{ 37 comments }