For the past few weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed our discussion of Aidan Donnelley Rowley’s debut novel, Life After Yes. Thank you to everyone who has read and contributed to our lively conversation. Today I am thrilled that Aidan has agreed to join us to weigh in on some of the themes and questions that [...]
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Today I am pleased to offer you a guest post by Judy of Just One Foot. Judy is a writer, wife, mom of four, and amputee of six years. At Just One Foot, Judy writes lyrically and eloquently about motherhood, personhood, partnership, and friendship. I am grateful to her for offering this piece – one [...]
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I went to a yoga class last week for the first time in three years. It wasn’t a great class – the teacher seemed distracted and her choice to play contemporary music throughout the class distracted me – but I was happy to be there, doing something for myself and for my body. And delighted [...]
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Welcome to the third installment of our Life After Yes book club! (Looking for our discussions of the previous sections? Click here!) If the first section of Life After Yes is all about Identity, and the second section is all about Prudence and Predictability, then the third is about Honesty and Authenticity. And those two [...]
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After all this heavy talk about blogging and balance, I thought it might be time to lighten things up chez Motherese. I mean, come on, it’s almost summer – thanks to temperatures in the 80s and daily thunderstorms, it certainly feels like summer – so it is my pleasure today to bring you the next [...]
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Just last week I was singing the praises of Gale at Ten Dollar Thoughts, the inspiration for my post on choice. At Ten Dollar Thoughts, Gale writes articulate, reflective, and powerful posts on motherhood, womanhood, and personhood. I always enjoy her writing and her thinking and was delighted when she agreed to do a house [...]
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Finding balance is elusive. Heck, defining balance is elusive. It occurs to me that balance – like happiness, or presence – might be one of those terms that falls under the Potter Stewart “I know it when I see it” standard. Yup, that’s it, I think: I don’t know how to define balance, but I [...]
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Welcome to the first installment of our book club for Aidan Donnelley Rowley’s Life After Yes! Please check out my thoughts on chapters 1-11 and then use the comments section to weigh in with your impressions, ideas, and questions. And, even if you haven’t been reading along with us, I hope you’ll chime in if [...]
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I’m pooped. I suppose you might take that expression literally, given that I live in a house with two kids under three years of age, but, in this case, I’m using it euphemistically. I’m tired. Spent. Wiped. Exhausted. After ten days of non-stop blogging followed by a week of non-stop sniffling, this lady needs a [...]
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I’m a big fan of Gale’s blog, Ten Dollar Thoughts. Gale is a terrific writer who regularly serves up intelligent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking essays. Last week two of her posts mingled in my mind and got me thinking about Starbucks. Starbucks, you say? Yeah, Starbucks. Stick with me for a moment and you’ll see why. [...]
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My babies are gone. And I don’t know where they went. It’s possible, just possible, that they flew away. That they left their nest because they are ready. That they’re hanging out in one of those bushes at the back of our lawn, still getting flying and foraging lessons from their parents. But they are [...]
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Sick Big Boy + Sick Tiny Baby + Sick Husband = No Time for Good Writing You see, some sort of springtime plague descended on our house this week. I have survived unscathed so far, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before the fact that my clothing has come to double as [...]
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Today it is a real pleasure to welcome to Motherese Bruce Dolin of Privilege of Parenting. A clinical psychologist and parent of two sons, Bruce combines his professional and personal experience with his knowledge of film, philosophy, literature, and art to offer powerful daily posts on how we might become our own best selves through [...]
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…I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to [...]
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Once upon a time there was a girl. A brand new mom of two. Her teaching career on pause, she stayed at home with her newborn and 20-month-old sons. She loved those boys. She loved her Husband. She had a lucky life. She knew she did. But she felt sad a lot of the time. [...]
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A few weeks ago, my buddy Liz at …but then I had kids bestowed upon little-old-prone-to-blushing-me the Plastic Joy Award. As you can see from the rather suggestive picture above, the Plastic Joy award is all about embracing Lust. And how convenient that today’s Five for Ten topic is Lust, giving me the chance to [...]
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To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly… to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to await occasions, hurry never… this is [...]
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I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately. Throughout our Raising Happiness book club and beyond, I thought about what makes me happy and when I’m happiest. And of course visions of chubby baby cheeks and Botticellian toddler curls danced in my head. As did cuddling with Husband. Sleeping late. Reading novels. Eating Extreme Moose [...]
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In Season Six of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw dates my least favorite of her on-screen paramours, Jack Berger. Not least among his transgressions is that he seems to be carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend, Lauren. Her presence looms large early on in their relationship, in everything from voice mails to the chirping [...]
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When I think about courage, I usually think about courageous acts and the notable people who’ve performed them. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins hurtling into space tethered to a rocket. The unnamed man who stood bravely, his only armor his shirtsleeves, before a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square. Ezell Blair, David Richmond, [...]
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We never cursed in my house growing up. Never. In fact, when I first started hearing curse words in school, I thought these words were new. Recently invented and added to the lexicon. Like “spyware” or “unibrow.” Imagine my surprise when I realized that these words were as old as language itself. To this day, [...]
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Today it is my pleasure to welcome Christine Carter, author of Raising Happiness, to Motherese. Christine is a sociologist and the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. For the past four weeks, we have been discussing her ten key steps to help our kids – and ourselves – lead happy [...]
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Lesson Four of Big Little Wolf’s sensational style series at Divorced Women Online introduces us to the importance of accessories in personalizing an ensemble. According to Big Little Wolf, “Accessories should enhance your appearance, make sense with your style, and tell your stories.” Emphasizing the love of the French for quality and individuality, Wolf focuses [...]
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Today it is my pleasure to welcome my friend Christine from Coffees & Commutes, who has generously agreed to share a guest post with us today. At Coffees & Commutes, Christine writes about her quest for balance as she juggles a full-time career, marriage, and parenthood. What I appreciate most about Christine is the honesty [...]
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Welcome to the final week of our book club for Christine Carter’s Raising Happiness! Whether or not you are reading along with us, please enjoy this overview of the final chapter by Katy Keim of BookSnob and then jump on into the discussion. And stay tuned for our upcoming Q&A session with Christine Carter! — This week [...]
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How could I be ready for this next chapter when the previous one hadn’t yet been completed? How could I love anyone as much as I love Big Boy? How could I take care of two babies under two at the same time? A year ago today, at 12:47 p.m., I saw you, and I [...]
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It turns out that my typical middle American suburban cul de sac isn’t so typical after all. You see, the kids on my street play. We had the snowiest winter on record, but that didn’t stop them from heading outside after school to engage in snowball fights or the more genteel snow angel creation and [...]
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Guilt Written
Jun 09
Since my post last week on searching for a bloggy balance, I’ve been buffering, trying to find a way to stay connected, all the while making room in my life for the other things that make me happy and nourish my spirit. Your comments last week – on the blog and via e-mail – in [...]
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