Abstract and Landscape
One of the best gifts any parent can get is a sign that they're raising a nice guy or gal. The boots drying by the woodstove yesterday morning were my signs. Thing1 came home from college for the day Friday to schlep his brother home from school and to help out around the house while… Continue reading Here’s to the Nice Guys
The big five-OMG is just around the corner. Friends and family began asking how I wanted to mark the beginning of the next half century almost a year before it was due, so I felt some obligation to not try to ignore this one birthday. Just before Thanksgiving, I remembered Thing1’s birthday climb a year… Continue reading My Team 50.0
I always said if any kid of mine where is the teeniest bit artistically inclined, I would encourage the heck out of that inclination. Thing2 is, and I do, but I swear that if there is a God up there, he or she has finely honed sense of humor. I was a slob as a… Continue reading Commando Parenting
Jack was born in the summer. By default, our summer travel routine and the vacation plans of most of his classmates made most of his birthday celebrations quite a bit smaller and tamer than the circus-like orgies of cake and presents that are depicted as normal and desirable in movies or ads. His birthdays are… Continue reading Sunshine Good Day
It's Saturday morning, and we're off to T-ball. Almost all our Saturdays involve some morning sport with one or both of the boys. In winter it's the perfect antidote to cabin fever, but this morning it's helping get me grounded again. A weekend away at the Cape led to a week of catching up at… Continue reading Grounders
Maybe if it hadn't been a snow day filled with lolling about and lying around, this milestone might have gone unnoticed. But twelve-year-old Thing1, getting as big as a good-natured Goliath these days, made the mistake of mentioning that he wanted a shower on a slow news day. The Big Guy and I looked at… Continue reading The Hairy Edge
This is my kids' world. It's small and it's a big as the outdoors. There are no sidewalks. There are no shopping malls. When I am too tied up to drive them to play dates, they are each others' play date. Like many kids these days, they have too many toys, but until… Continue reading Having It All
Rachel Barlow Art 