By Kelly My daughter started giggling before she started speaking. “Mom, remember in that movie about the dogs and the cat trying to get home [“Homeward Bound” for the uninitiated] when the cat said, ‘Oh, you missed me butt-face.’ That was so funny, wasn’t it?” Um. Yeah. I guess there’s a certain je ne sais…
Author Archives: Kelly
Family Camp 101
By Kelly “Mom, I’m done eating. Can I go play now?” I scanned the plate across the table and the excited seven-year-old next to it. “Sure honey,” I acquiesced. “Have fun.” And with that, my daughter was out the door, on her way to fish. Or maybe swim. Or possibly make some sand art. Or…
Cotton Candy
By Kelly Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated by cotton candy. Maybe it was because it was such an rare treat. In the days of yore (read: the 1970s), cotton candy was reserved for the circus or the fair or some other infrequent-but-storied event. I loved to stand next to the…
Inseparable
By Kelly I set my squirming, squealing 17-month-old daughter into the bathtub last night, then ducked around the corner to grab a towel and washcloth out of the cabinet. Her rage was immediate and deafening. I apparently didn’t have permission to leave her side – to split atoms, as it were. In her mind, we…
Soccer Mom
By Kelly I earned a new badge today. I am now, officially, a soccer mom. My five-year-old son started practicing with a bunch of fellow pre-kindergarteners this morning. I don’t know who was more excited, him or me. Because this isn’t just his first venture into team sports – it’s also mine. The way my…
An A+ Family
By Kelly I tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to listen. “Some families are just out of control,” said one of the voices. “I mean, seriously.” I glanced sideways at the table next to ours. We were sitting in the dining room of a nice hotel, enjoying the final moments of the…
The Lilacs
By Kelly The lilacs are blooming. Nothing says early summer to me quite like a bush rich with amethyst blossoms. They are ubiquitous right now, strewn willy-nilly around the neighborhood, equally at home on a freeway overpass as they are in the front yard of a much-loved cottage. The air is perfumed with their innocent…
Lessons Learned
By Kelly To parent successfully, one must be both teacher and student. Here is what I’ve learned from my children this past week. Note: This is an abridged version. Dialing 911 even in the middle of sequence still calls 911. Guess which 16-month-old doesn’t get to play with the phone anymore? Personal aside to the…
Year-End Project
By Kelly The state of Minnesota apparently took an Instant Summer pill today. It’s so beautiful outside, it hurts. (Or maybe that’s just the 97-degree sunshine hitting my arms.) The kids in our neighborhood are riding bikes, shouting greetings, begging for another popsicle. According to one little girl, her whole body is boiling! As if…
Do Over
By Kelly The morning has not gone well. I had hoped to get up early and write, something I rarely do, but hold as an option of last resort when my brain is too mushy to be creative after the kids go to bed. (And last night, my brain was mushy by 9:00 PM; I…