Browsed by
Tag: Parenting

This Room and Everything In It

This Room and Everything In It

Dear S, It is a Monday morning and I am catching up on emails while our son sleeps on the couch. As we both well know, J does not like to sleep alone. He will sleep through the coffee grinder, a car alarm and just about anything else as long as he is close to us. A few minutes ago, our pup was sleeping on the opposite side of the couch. Then she inched over to J and flopped her head…

Read More Read More

Secret Letters

Secret Letters

Dear S, It’s not news to you that I’ve been a mess this weekend. I keep trying to put a finger on how I feel, but keep coming up short. Motherhood has stretched me to the outer limits of all the emotions I’ve ever felt, sometimes in both directions at once. This weekend I’ve felt a new breed of exhaustion, I think. It’s the exhaustion that comes from having a week where I haven’t showered alone or eaten with two…

Read More Read More

Wonder of Wonders

Wonder of Wonders

Dear J, As we travel the great circuit of the downstairs area of our home, you lay across my arms. Your feet are draped across my left arm, your head rests on my right arm, and the middle of you sinks down a bit where there isn’t any more of me to catch you. This reminds me of my two older brothers when we would all three sit in the back of our parents’ car. I would sit in the…

Read More Read More

Would You Still Marry Me?

Would You Still Marry Me?

Talking to our friends, I told them I didn’t mind having our son sleep in bed with us. “He needs to be close to another human. Besides, he’s really cute.” The husband pointed at me and said, “but you get to go to work in the morning.” This weekend, I was so excited for a day off together. Sleeping in, making coffee, maybe even having sex if our son took a long enough nap. Besides, we were going to go…

Read More Read More

Close Quarters

Close Quarters

Dear Z, When we drove to our friends’ house, my nerves were so shot by the end that I could barely speak. I had spent the trip in the back of the car, sitting with our son in case he needed some soothing words on the way. Typically, you sit in the back with J. He cries here and there for a few minutes, but he is usually on a trajectory towards sleep as soon as his little eyes open…

Read More Read More