By Gretchen I was putting bagged groceries into the cart when my 4-year-old daughter ran up to me, sobbing. On that day, it was nothing new. She cried about all sorts of things during that shopping trip. It was the end of a long, demanding week and nerves were frayed. Most of her sadness could…
Category Archives: Gretchen
Is it 5:00 pm in the Hundred Acre Wood?
By Gretchen My two oldest children need your money. They plan to extract it from you by wooing you with homemade fliers advertising babysitting and leaf-raking services. One of my children promises to provide his own tools, which makes my husband laugh heartily and do a mental checklist of his tools’ whereabouts. I better not…
When Breast Equals Blush
By Gretchen I never thought I’d be self-conscious about breastfeeding in the privacy of my own home. There are no eye-rolling strangers. We don’t have tightly-spaced vinyl upholstered booths or utilitarian park benches where I am expected to wrangle baby and blanket. At home, I have comfy sitting spots and am surrounded by people who…
Honoring their instincts
By Gretchen “Mom?’ my child said in a small voice, ‘I don’t think you should eat the pie.” I was caught by surprise and asked why. My husband had bought the pie only minutes earlier, indulging one of my late-pregnancy cravings for something untimely and ridiculous. I was looking forward to strip-mining my key lime…
We had mice on Christmas
By Gretchen I heard the first stirrings downstairs around 4 am. My 3 oldest boys were up, pawing through the gifts placed under the tree after they went to bed. I could hear excited whispers, muffled squeals, and giggling. I had no desire to halt their clandestine escape from the long winter’s nap. When I…
Smelly tree, smelly tree, it’s not your fault
By Gretchen I’ve often complained about our 2007 Christmas Tree. It smelled like teenaged badgers held a little but raucous kegger in the branches. I couldn’t wait to get rid of it—in fact, it was completely stripped of ornaments by the morning of December 26th. No regrets. I guess it’s the hazard of being in…
The Call of the Mild
By Gretchen I had just told my seventh grader something slightly outrageous (to her) and disagreeable (to her). She replied, “Dude?!’ and then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth and blushed, continuing, ‘I can’t believe I called you dude!” I said it was okay. “Well, I only say dude when I am being very…
Mind’s Eye
By Gretchen I’ve thought about him all morning, dressed like a Jolly Green Giant, but not jolly nor giant. Sam is the Frog Prince in a class play this morning. “I’m so nervous.” He looked grim as we prepared for the day. “You will do great! You will have so much fun! No reason to…
We See, We Saw
By Gretchen “Mommy! There are numbers on that clock!” My son pointed to the clock mounted on the kitchen wall. It was the morning after he got glasses. Suddenly? He could see. The next few days featured more revelations: Mountains had bumps and lumps! Water had waves! The world was no longer fuzzy. It…
I am potty trained and so are you
By Gretchen “Don’t worry. I won’t pee on you,” my nearly 3-year-old daughter assured me as she climbed onto my lap. “Thanks. I’m glad.” Was she worried she might? Did she need to go? Did I have any clean jeans or even a skirt hanging in the closet? That <em>fit</em>? Uhhhh. Mental note: Buy diet…