For your part, it was no different from any other day:
careful inspection and clucks of approval.
And I, I feel
your pink heft in my aching arms,
feel your cheek, not languishing on my shoulder,
but bobbing against my own, and I know you are doing well,
scooting through the list of What to Expect.
The exam yielded no surprises for […]

We went to church yesterday. It was great to worship again and I realized how much I’ve missed the people there. Everyone enjoyed meeting the divine Miss M, who slept the whole time. Of course, Senior Pastor wanted to come over today and start filling me in–gah! I still have five weeks of leave left! […]

Name five friends who have been there when you needed them.
There have been so many… I think just for fun I’ll limit it to people who read this blog, and I’ll describe the first thing that comes to mind today when I think about that person (which may not be the most significant thing).
First would […]

Today we played
Red Light! Green Light!
and you dutifully stopped
and started
at the right times,
until you got close enough to me
that no amount of
Red Light! Red Light!
would keep you from
careening and giggling
into my arms.
Later I dashed to the car
through the winter rain
and urged you to hurry,
but you walked at a measured pace
to feel each icy drop.
You break […]

I’m feeling a bit down today. It’s snowing a little outside, but not the good kind. I was with both the girls this morning and felt like I had limited patience and energy for both. How do you play with a spirited preschooler when your baby will only nap in your arms?
Monday I told C […]

1.
At first, she was nothing to me,
nothing I could see.
Then two points collided in secret.
And through some Euclidean miracle,
two points made an indigo line
that floated to the surface of a white window plane,
a handheld compass pointing I knew not where.
2.
Then the line spread out,
and became flat images of white on static:
forehead, nose, chin,
five slight fingers,
a […]

C: I want to talk about the doctor!
Me: OK, go ahead.
C: First the nurse came in. She put the blood pressure around my arm and listened with the stethescope. It went up and up on the wall. (the mercury) Then the doctor came. He had a duck on his stethescope, and it flashed two colors. […]

little miss M
she who is: divine one
loves to talk sleeps sweet
and I listen, and I watch — and
laugh along with you at our great
good fortune, and at the abundant
completeness of this, our family
of […]

…tell me what you think of me.
That’s apparently an alternate ending to the ABC song, as well as an invitation to contribute to my Johari window. Click on this link, then select a few adjectives that describe me.
You’ve seen it at the Ice Floe, Set Free and elsewhere… it’s taking the blogworld by storm!
What’s a […]

We were told by the preschool teachers to have the kids bring valentines today, with only their own names on them.
I follow instructions.
Other moms taped candy to the valentines, or included gift certificates for ice cream cones, or assembled elaborate goodie bags with chocolate and trinkets inside.
They did not follow instructions! Or, they surpassed the […]

The only way I get around to brushing my teeth is to have a second toothbrush and toothpaste downstairs next to the kitchen sink.
Holding a preschooler’s hand across the parking lot while carrying a car seat and several bags? Requires one more hand than I have.
On the day that I bought Goldfish for snack, and […]

I’ve been reading a lot of interesting stuff lately—a biography of Marie Curie (Obsessive Genius), an anthology of Jane Kenyon poems (Otherwise), and the latest Mothers Who Think collection, called Because I Said So. I really loved Rosellen Brown’s essay “No Blame,” in which she writes about being a writer and a mom. I’ve wished […]

for C, little she-who-is
When did I become a mother of two?
Was it six weeks ago, when your baby sister catapulted into the world and spread slender arms into empty air, groping for something to hold onto?
Was it later that day, when my eyes fell on the two of you together for the first time, when […]

A couple Saturdays ago I was cleaning up after baking some cookies when the doorbell rang. I figured it was our mail carrier dropping off a package–what with Christmas, M’s birth, my birthday, and C’s birthday next week, we’ve been getting lots of stuff in the mail lately. I opened the door to find two […]

Yesterday was one of those freak-out days. Part of it was mom being gone, part of it was finally reaching that personal saturation point—that absolute weariness of being available body and soul to this infant. She’s also just portable enough and agreeable enough for me to try to get some things done, but not portable […]