For years I dismissed their cliches of birds leaving nests and wings found as thoughts to ponder in later days. But your first loose tooth came and I could see your face was about to change. And maybe it was the symbol of permanence that comes with baby teeth lost forever, but suddenly I was… Continue reading Lost teeth and first days
Plans broken, changed, rearranged, the year quickly became unrecognisable from the elaborate montage of expectations we’d so thoughtfully designed. That was new, hopeful, predictable, achievable, a masterpiece we’d display on our wall and speak of for years to come. This is different. Unwanted, unwelcome, unimaginable. There was no chance to dip our toes in, to… Continue reading Broken Plans
Our eyes lock. We both know what’s coming. I take a deep breath in and brace for impact. You take a deep breath in and all hell breaks loose. You’ve got fire in your belly that billows up to your eyes and out of your ears, I swear sometimes I can see the steam. You… Continue reading T is for Tantrum
I glanced across the café as I waited in line, holding my little man in one arm and the trusty old nappy bag in the other as the two girls danced and darted around my legs. My gaze stopped in its tracks as I saw a mom nearby. Her two similarly aged children were sitting… Continue reading Shiny Things
“I stopped crying and started to be brave, mom” she told me. I halted abruptly mid- bite and stared at her. Her soft voice sincere. Her words as piercing as her eyes are blue. Our conversations over dinner had meandered, as they often do, from groundbreaking current events like how many weeks until her birthday… Continue reading Revelations at 6:05pm
Your first step took us all by surprise. Like snow on Thanksgiving, we knew it could happen, but we weren’t ready. It was the warm-up before the big game, the preview before the feature film. You took your stance on the edge of the world and let us glimpse what you’re capable of. Your second… Continue reading The Third Step
The cold water runs over my hands, taking an eternity to heat up. But I don’t’ mind, after all it’s Friday night and I have a front row seat to the most beautiful gig in town. My family. I watch them as if in a dream, whirling and twirling around me- the girls in their oversized princess… Continue reading At my Kitchen Sink
As a parent, so much happens in a twenty four hour period. It tends to be a mysteriously hectic yet wonderful conglomeration of fleeting moments; some of which you very much want to forget and others you want to always remember. But boy, how those beautiful moments with our young children far outweigh the challenging… Continue reading Fireflies
15 seconds. You were out of our sight for only 15 seconds. That’s all it took. Then you were gone. Even today when there were four of us adults. A day where, for once, the little cubs were outnumbered by their protective mama bear and her lovingly fierce counterparts, still it happened. The busy shopping… Continue reading Mama Bears
You might be wondering, what’s the big deal?…(when it comes to setting up a reward/behaviour/chores or routine style chart system in your home). But I’m here to convince you that it’s actually a good thing to consider implementing if you’re not already. Done well, these kinds of charts and systems can set a tone of… Continue reading Charts, Chores and Chocolate
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