Category: Parenting
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must. have. fun.
At night we look like we fought in the war. Both conrad and I. I have no energy to write, to think, not even to focus on watching a simple show. My brain is fried. I’m overstimulated. My hearing and my lap. My main live language is acts of service. I enjoy cooking, cleaning, driving…
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Quarantine
For many people covid 19 has been a theoretical virus that others have. The virus that screws with the world economy and the freedom to roam around as we please. After two months of lockdown, the world regained some freedom or tried to take it by force, but at what cost? We stayed away from…
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Two months together
We keep Evelyn busy Life is fun. Except when it isn’t. When there are rules and boundaries, bed time and business to attend to. My attention shifted to Jaclyn the past week. We go to physical therapy every day. Jaclyn said today: “I love this time I have with just you going to therapy!” This…
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It’s a cool summer
Breezy and green. We’ve had the time to fully notice it this year of covid lockdown. We have two daughters at home. The storm of emotions we have braced for, was like a summer rain, matching the weather outside: refreshing, expected, needed. With the lockdown and social distancing, having two kids at home who get…
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6 weeks together full time
The other night I was putting both girls to be and after I read each of them a story, both listened enthralled but still managed to interrupt me with nonsense a few times. Evelyn has had a hard time letting me go while falling asleep. At the foster mom nobody sat there to baby her.…
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In the grand scheme of things
I was reading a book about adoption, which took a closer look at Moses in its first chapter. It mentioned there that God’s perspective is in “decades of life”. [so what is a year of pandemic in a lifetime? Course altering, life changing, chiseling…] We may fret over daily events, and get bogged down by…
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A conversation about race
I listened to pbcc conversation about race last week. Bernard bell, the resident scholar of everything historical, a researcher through and through, traveled, humble and so intelligent, he tackles this sensitive topic. Especially in today’s America. At the end, the three people that shared their story, as part of the solution: which is listening, were…
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Controlled environment
If there is a benefit to this “shelter in place”, is that we have an opportunity to understand what influences our kids’ behavior and how. We have a new sister in our household, and the girls play a lot of silly games together, imaginative: they go to work, they wear fancy shoes, they act as…
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Breaking up with a boy
They became friends two years ago. On many occasions they were inseparable. They played nicely, they learned from each other, they completed each other. It was an easier relationship to manage than some of the ones with girlfriends. Up to a point. School brought up more differences and pretty soon they stopped playing together. Especially…
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La jumătatea perioadei de încredințare
Scriu la biroul fetei mai mari, în camera fetelor. Evelyn doarme în patul de jos. Azi a adormit ușor, în timp ce eu clipocesc pe tastatură. Traduc o carte, și cât doarme ea, fiica cea mare citește câte o carte, sau îi citește Daddy “Harry Poster” în engleză. Avem două ore de liniște în timpul…
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Greu
Dragi părinți, e greu. Relația cu copiii noștri uneori pare unidirecțională. Ei au nevoie de noi, au emoții mari, complexe, și noi dăm și tot dăm. Primim uneori bucuria unei îmbrățișări dulci și sincere, drăgălășenia lor mai ales când dorm și nu mai au nimic de zis sau de cerut… dar pentru multă vreme relația…
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Proactive not reactive
We’re exhausted trying to catch up with our eldest daughter. She entered a new season of independence from us, of self awareness and curiosity about her strength and boundaries. And we’ve been playing catch-up, reacting to her mind boggling experiments. They make no sense. I don’t think there is a reasoning behind them. Ideas come…