School’s Out For Summer… Why is That, Again?
The sign at the entrance to my son’s primary school reads, under the school’s name, “A First-Class Experience.” And it is, truly. So much so, that I wish he could stay there all year. And why not? I love school, and my son does, too — he just finished first grade, and this year we hit the sick-day jackpot, with a total of… wait for it… none. The only time Daniel missed school was the day I took him out to go to his cousin Tara’s graduation ceremony. Just recently, he actually did get sick, but returned to school the …Keep Reading
The Non-Helpless Dad: A Father’s Day Shout-Out to My Husband
Let me just say this upfront: My husband is, hands down, the best father I know. (Sorry, Dad.) Here he is, the day we took our first son, Daniel, home from the hospital. (Note the beard growth and dazed expression; that’s what you get after sleeping on one of those hospital recliner chairs for three nights. Not that I looked much better — after two days of labor and a C-section, I wasn’t anyone’s version of a beauty queen. But what I love about this shot is the tenderness in his hands, contrasted with the terror in his eyes. He …Keep Reading
What’s In Your Toybox?
I was recently asked to write a guest-blog post for City Mommy, a local community website for moms in cities and towns around the country (you sign up, and access forums for local groups, and so on — a virtual coffee shop for moms). Anyway, I thought for a bit about what I might want to write about, and for some reason, toys leapt to mind. Just the other day, on my way into James’ preschool for pickup, I ran into another mom on her way out with her son. They were happy to report that they were on their …Keep Reading
The McDonald’s Conundrum: Do You Do Fast Food?
It should probably come as no surprise that I’m not a fast-food fan. I used to love it, as a child, and even into my twenties, but no more. The few times I’ve had it, post age 30 or so, it didn’t sit right, in more ways than one. So, me and McDonald’s (or BK or Wendy’s…)? Not so much. Especially after I read author Erik Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, and saw Morgan Spurlock’s brilliant and nausea-inducing documentary Super Size Me, which details (horrifyingly) his 30-day experiment of eating nothing but fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My problem …Keep Reading
The Volcano Experiment: The Mean Mom’s Guide to Birthday Parties
Last weekend, my sons and I went to an awesome birthday party. It was Daniel’s friend Luke’s seventh birthday. Luke’s a great kid — the boys have been in class together since kindergarten — and he has a pretty cool mom. By which I mean, she throws cool birthday parties. Last year, she hosted a bunch of kids and their parents on a short trip on the Long Island Rail Road to a sweet little old-fashioned ice-cream parlor two or three towns away. We rode the train, played some I-Spy-like games and pored over maps while sporting our “official’ travel …Keep Reading
Working-Mom Guilt: Why I Don’t Have It, and Why No Mom Should
Last year, I wrote an article for American Baby magazine called “Can You Afford to Quit?” It’s a perennial subject for parenting magazines — how-to advice for making a smooth work-to-home transition. I remember when I got the assignment. On the phone, my editor and I batted around the details of what to include, and she asked me what I thought would make a good sidebar to the piece. I hesitated a bit, but then I broached this idea: What about a sidebar addressing the case against quitting? My idea was, maybe moms who are sure they want to stop …Keep Reading
