A Mom's Life

We all know that Andy is a busy bee with all of his committee meetings and other very important things to do. I, too, am very involved and oh so busy. As a matter of fact, I am the chair of two committees: My Personal Social Events Committee and the Caroline Social Events Committee. Being the chair of both of these committees is downright exhausting and a big responsibility. To save time I often try to combine efforts and plan activities that the members of both committees will be happy attending. As you might have guessed, Andy isn't really a supporter of my committee involvement as it is not nearly as noble as say the fire department or Chamber of Commerce. In his mind, working a pancake breakfast is much more important than planning and implementing a Sunday outing for Caroline and company. He often wonders why I am so exhausted after these social events and references them as my "Candy Land vacation." While his resume demonstrates a variety of sound skills, the poor g...

The other night I was watching the news, listening to music, checking email, cooking dinner and reading a magazine (oh, and watching Caroline) when I came across a great piece by A.J. Jacobs in Real Simple . The article, an excerpt from his book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment, talks about Jacobs' quest to unitask as part of what he calls Project Focus. Jacobs details with hilarity his 30 days of multitasking detox which includes tying himself to his chair with an extension cord, squirming through a meditation session and saying out loud everything he is doing at a given moment. The piece ends with Jacobs dedicating ten minutes to placing nickels in a piggy bank with his son. While almost impossible, the author manages to simplify each individual moment of his day and understand the value of focus. When was the last time you did just one thing at any given moment? I think about how often I respond with"multitasking" when Caroline asks me what I'm doi...

Let's be honest, I'm not modest. As a kid I spent hours naked, running around my yard, changing in the back yard after swimming or in between outf changes at slumber parties. During my college years I was the first to jump in the lake for the late night skinny dip and a friend from my alma mater once told Andy she was pretty sure she'd seen me naked more than he has. Growing up we had a small house and pretty much everyone had the same attitude as me, minus my poor dad. My mom, brother and me all left the doors open while bathing and using the toilet. Mom's bathtime was the best time for Mad Libs and confession-like life discussions, with she, the captive audience, behind the curtain and me pouring my heart out while sitting on the floor of the bathroom, occasionally sticking my head behind the curtain to make sure she was listening or to make fun of her mom body. The 1-1 time often ended with my brother running in with a cold cup of water to throw over the shower cu...

I'm an East Coast girl. Let me be more specific. I'm a New England girl, a Mass girl, a Pioneer Valley girl and above all, a Goshen girl. It's a small place and I recognized it at any early age, allowing the travel bug and dreams of a bigger and better life to take me out of state and out of the country. It was then, during these trips, that I realized you can take the girl out of Goshen but you can't take Goshen out of the girl. I tried to live in Southern California after graduating from college. Who wouldn't love it there? Beautiful beaches and beautiful people combined with sunny skies and warm air. I loved the feeling of exhilaration the first time I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and the luxury of wearing a thin leather jacket on a mild December night. My life there didn't last too long, family illness, a failed relationship and the hope of graduate studies pulled me back. And, I missed the rock walls designating land boundaries and the boulde...