Raising Boys

He holds his heart as we wait at the red line in the immigration queue. His face has a puzzled look. Passports slide back our way and we crane necks for one last look, one wave, one jump up and down and blowing of last kisses. Then with heavy back packs we start the long […]

He stares at me from the back seat with eyes hot, red, determined, defiant and desperate to be understood. I stare at him through the rear view mirror with eyes that echo his own blue exactly and match his mood perfectly. I am just as angry as he is. The only difference is that outright […]

After, “I love you,” the words “I’m sorry” might be the most important ones we say to our kids. Much harder to say, though. Because people don’t like to be wrong and parents especially are used to being right. I’ve never been particularly good at it. Going first at apologizing to Pete in the early […]

He ran next to me the whole time. And I was ashamed I couldn’t run as fast as him. He’s eight and I’ll be 40 this August. And I watched him choose. He could have run fast and far up ahead where his friends were, where the best times were, where the winners were. But […]

There are frayed edges of motherhood that aren’t often talked about. Those places where we’re holding onto our temper with one hand and the belief that things have got to get better eventually with the other. One night that place rocks me hard as I rock my baby girl in one arm and cell phone […]

Son, here’s the thing. Sometimes come 9pm mama is just flat out done. So when you peer down from that top bunk bed eye to eye with me and question the end of your day with the everlasting, “but whyyyyy?,” a small world flashes before my eyes. It’s been over 12 hours since I woke […]