By Veronica My parents were dedicated to the family vacation. Every summer we would pile into the family vehicle and strike off for parts unknown. Grandparents, old family friends and places of historic interest usually made up our itenerary. The car rides were always long, and my mom would buy me paperbacks to keep me…
Author Archives: Veronica
Windstorms and Candles
By Veronica Yesterday a windstorm blew through our midwestern city, the last gasp of Hurrican Ike. We had no rain, no thunder, no tornadoes. Just hurricane-force winds (so they tell me), shaking the trees and rolling up the roofs like scrolls. My husband is now outside, gathering the dead branches that litter our yard. After…
My Mother and the Military
By Veronica This weekend my darling fourth daughter was born (you can read about the drama of the birth here), and my mother drove up from her Texas home to help me for awhile. Her visit has reminded me of all sorts of stories about her, and I thought I would share one of my…
The Rowdy Daughter
By Veronica Yesterday I was sitting in the bathroom at church (I’m pregnant – I spend half of church sitting in bathrooms) when I overheard two ladies talking about my daughter. I think it was about my daughter. They never said her name, but it certainly sounded like my daughter. It wasn’t a spiteful conversation…
Swimsuits, Sprinklers and the Last Trimester
By Veronica My three-year-old loves to wear a swimsuit, but she hates to get wet. When I take her to a waterpark – like I did today – she spends the first half-hour racing in widening circles around me, chattering and playing. If we stay long enough, she may dip her fingers in the sprinklers….
Sea Air
By Veronica I have never lived near the sea, but I know what sea air means. Poetry and novels and histories have built it up in my mind to be the scent of freshness and freedom, wild unpredictability and restoration to good health. I visited the Atlantic a handful of times before I had kids,…
Something I Do Right
By Veronica When Az the Husband and I married, along with our wedding vows we had a handful of private, informal agreements with each other. Some were simple: if we are dinner guests anywhere and I am served custard, he will quietly eat it for me, so I don’t look too rude (I hate custards….
A Pregnancy Fear I Never Expected
By Veronica I am the over-reacting type. I know it, and through sheer force of effort I avoid hysteria, but by nature I am a worrier. My sister calls me “functionally paranoid.” My natural parenting style is one I privately call Fearful and Clutching, and it is only the exercise of my reason and the…
Potential
By Veronica When I was a kid, I absorbed a less than sparkling truth from the kids’ movies and cheerful teachers around me: I could be anything I wanted to be. There was no limit to my potential. As long as I had big dreams and worked hard, the possibilities for my adult life were…
If Every Mom Were a Stay-At-Home Mom
By Veronica If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, the public schools would shut down due to a lack of teachers. If every mom were a stay-at-home mom, giving birth would become much more dangerous. All those mothers who are midwives and OBGYNS would disappear. The hospitals could not staff enough nurses for basic patient…