The word ritual may evoke images of religious ceremonies with waving incense, but right now for my family, it means turning on Disney+ on Saturday mornings.
Saying Goodbye to Our Tree
“Thank you for what you did for us, tree,” I sniffed, watching my kids hug the huge pine tree in our yard. They were probably getting sap on their shirts, but it didn’t matter. The tree was going to be gone soon. We each told it that we would miss it, calling out “Goodbye.”
To My Child Turning Five
To my younger son,
You’re five. How has it been five years since that chaotic day you came into our lives, three weeks early and only a few hours after I had a job interview? (Yes, really.) How could it have been so many months since they placed you – so very tiny – in my arms after so much anxiety and bated breath? When I wondered how your brother would react, how you would fit in our family, who you would be?
Juggling the Standards and Ambitions of Modern Parenting
“The house should be so much cleaner!” I think, panicked about my parents arriving any minute. That streak of panic occurs despite the fact that they know perfectly well that they’ve been the only people in our house since last March and that we’re not exactly the tidiest people by a long shot. Expectations are already low.
And yet I think this anyway. The self-judgment weighs hard, even when I push back against it. The hardest part is that I think this way about everything: cleaning, cooking, parenting, activism, writing, even taking care of myself. Perhaps worst of all, I suspect I’m not the only one.
Resource: Climate Justice Toolkit for Families
Do you want to talk to your kids about climate change but you don’t know how? Even young kids are hearing about climate change, from overhearing the news to learning about it in school. When kids who feel empowered to act on climate change are less anxious about it and more able to make changes for good!
I’ve worked with Raising Luminaries to develop a Climate Justice toolkit for families and teachers with elementary school children!
Be sure to check out our toolkit and pass it on to anyone you think would be interested. It’s a free and accessible resource for all.
Turning 38 at the (Seeming) End of the World
38. It’s a weird birthday, isn’t it? It says something about this birthday and year in general that I’m writing my birthday reflection post more than a week after it happened. In the past, I would have been on top of it, annoyed with myself if I didn’t have it ready the day of my birthday. But like so much this past year, my writing has been catch-is catch-can and that’s just how it’s going to be.
Fighting for Radical Kindness
“I just want to raise my kids to be kind,” the Facebook comment read.
My eyebrow raised. This comment followed a back and forth between me and the commenter. That conversation was sparked by her complaining that she was sick of people trying to shame white people. That comment was in response to a thought-provoking post about racism that wasn’t shaming. Trying to provide an alternative perspective, I explained because of the unjust systems we live in that we all have some level of racism and we actively have to work to be anti-racist. She basically said that she was disgusted at me trying to create conflict and would raise her kids to be “color-blind.” And then she dropped that line on me about “raising her kids to be kind.”
Really? Really?!
Holding Onto the Milestones that Are Left
“Let me take a picture of you in the last night of your old bed!” I urged my younger son. Instead, he threw the blanket over his head and giggled. I sighed and smiled. Sheesh. After some playing back and forth, I finally got my photo.
Reframing Monsters in Fantasy and Real Life
“I’m a hell hound! But a nice one,” my four year old says, referring to a Dungeons and Dragons monster who is literally supposed to be a dog from Hades.
This may seem like an odd exchange, but it’s perfectly normal in our household.
Concocting Potions with Imagination
“Can you get me more water? And soap?” my younger son asked me, holding a small plastic bucket.
“For your potions?” I said.
“Yes,” he replied with all of the seriousness a four year old has going about such things.