A Mom's Life

I love to relax. I'm good at it. I have been finding my inner peace through yoga and a version of meditation for years now. I can sit in a beach chair, dangling my toes in the waves, for hours. Give me a good book and a hammock and I'll cancel the rest of my plans for the day. I am never that person at work who has left over vacation days. Believe it or not, my colleagues have this problem and they have been told that they will lose a big chunk of vacation days if not used by July. In an effort to encourage employees to use their time off, the powers that be invited a local therapist to offer a workshop about the importance of vacation. I went to the workshop because I like to hear other people speak my opinion and I smiled as she discussed the importance of stepping away from work and life as a method for reflection. We are better parents, friends and colleagues if we remove ourselves from the grind and get a little perspective. She referenced a book, "Working wit...

When you are a mom you should avoid math, especially budgets. If you are a mom you should not sit down with a pen, paper and calculator and should avoid Microsoft Excel entirely. Because if you do, you'll start realizing that being a mom doesn't equate to making a lot of money. It equals spending a lot of money and this may be depressing. When we started paying daycare bills for Caroline we quietly wrote the checks and accepted the fact that the price for someone else caring for our little bundle of joy would be the same as our mortgage. We added it to the list of new expenses that come with having a child, from diapers and formula, fancy car seats and strollers. We traded in ebay purchases and Pottery Barn splurges for Robeez and Hannah Anderson outfits that would last 2-3 months. And although my paycheck had diminished, there was still enough in the bank account each week to help contribute to the bottom line. Now that our second bundle of joy is on the way, we've lo...

We found out last week that Caroline is the weirdo in her class. This does not surprise me, because I have been the weirdo my whole life and I find it suits me quite well. My unique personality and my distinct nose give me enough character to make the USA network proud. What does concern me about Caroline's news is that, after four months at preschool, we are just now learning that she she interacts little with the other children and tends to keep to herself. The teachers were excited to tell us about her weirdness finally because they have cured her. In childhood it is not acceptable to be the weird one. Parents of a three year old who "steps to the beat of a different drummer" spend sleepless nights surfing the web for information on learning disabilities and developmental challenges. Adults look for ways to help all children, born individual creatures, to become little sheep, herded into adolescence. Caroline's assimilation into the herd was accomplished by the...

It's that time of year again when we all either think about, or avoid making, New Year's resolutions. There's something about the end of one year and the beginning of another to get us in the spirit of reflection and rebirth. I suppose after spending 365 days not becoming the person we always wanted to be, we think that buying a new calendar and referring to a new year will somehow enable us with the power we need to be better people- or at least resolve ourselves to be. Andy and I certainly don't sit down as a couple to talk about how to make the most out of the upcoming year. I can't even get him to commit to telling me if we are able to carpool to work tomorrow, let alone having him write down how he's going to change his life by December 31, 2010. Honestly, I've never written down any type of resolution just to keep to myself. Every year, as the holidays come to a close and another hectic year edges up on me I do take a moment to reflect on my life ...