Category Archives: Veronica

If she decides to take up the dobro, I am set.

By Veronica My oldest daughter will begin violin lessons this year. We’ve been praising the violin at home, trying to create enthusiasm for the lessons. The teacher uses the Suzuki method, so I’ve been reading up on it. Apparently, the method works best when the family includes similar music in their everyday life. This comes…

You Should See Me in a Pirate’s Hat

By Veronica There are many things I do not understand about fashion. I do not understand why a headband is uncool, but using sunglasses as a headband is cool. I do not even understand what word we’re supposed to use now instead of cool. But I do understand that moms do not need to bow…

The Empty Seat

By Veronica I write this from one of our city’s most beautiful parks. Families pass me on bicycles shaped like Model Ts. Some of these bicycles seat six, the perfect number for our family. They remind me of the foot-powered cars in The Flinstones, and I have always wanted to be one of these families,…

Things I Have Learned the Hard Way

By Veronica 1. When I was pregnant with my first child, I visited a friend who had two kids. She had a lovely home, and a dining room set that still looked like new. So new, in fact, that the upholstered seats of the chairs were still covered in their original plastic. She kept it…

A Little Girl Prays for Iran

By Veronica I was sitting at the computer, looking at pictures of the election protests in Iran. My four-year-old daughter was up past her bedtime, due to a late nap. She saw the photos on the screen and clambered into my lap. “What’s that picture of, Mommy?” “That is a picture of people in a…

The Well-Worn Heart

By Veronica This post was originally published in May 2007 on Veronica’s personal blog, Toddled Dredge. Veronica now has four children, the youngest of whom will be weaned soon. “The Well-Worn Path” remains just as true now as it was then. “We are in love with him already, ” a friend told me, when she…

Mother in a Swimsuit

By Veronica I wore a swimsuit in public today and the sky did not fall. This frumpy overweight mom wore a swimsuit in public, and no one pointed and jeered. No one turned away in disgust. Dogs did not let out howls as I walked by, and potted plants did not wilt. Not a single…

Pride Rides the Swing

By Veronica I had taken all four children to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather. I had the baby strapped into a carrier on my chest, and I was pushing my four year old on the swing. The two year old and five year old were playing on the slides. Another mom put her…

Memories and Kindergarten Orientation

By Veronica Last week I took my oldest daughter to kindergarten orientation. I did not sleep well the night before. I lay in bed, rigid and worried. I could not relax. I could not break my mind from thinking of all the things that might go wrong. We seriously considered homeschooling. My sister and my…

Neighbors. Or Neighbours. Depends where you live.

By Veronica Our neighbor Bob lets his dog poop in our yard. And he doesn’t clean it up. It is exasperating to take my children out to play – my arms full of baby – and find that our small yard is not “safe” for running in. I have apparently muttered about this too often…