Sipping
sangria in
the sunshine
The shrill of a
seashell played by a
Japanese man
A white bandana wrapped
around his
jet-black hair
The Kokyo Taiko drums
pound in the background
Their rhythm
climbs into my heart
beats into my bloodstream
 
My son and husband
are entranced with the
symmetry of sound
these
foreign drums make
Only I can hear the
faint trill of the
train as [...]

 
G turned to me with tears in his little eyes and blurted out,
 
“I don’t like it too tight. I like it just perfect.”
 
And then our argument was over.
 
I hugged him and said,
 
“I know. God help you, I totally know.”
 
Poor G had already inherited my hatred of tight things around my head (headbands, hats, earmuffs, [...]

 
Sour milk and
sticky apple juice fingers
brushed through
Baby shampoo-ed hair
 
Unwashed teddy bears and
slightly dank blankies
resting next to your warm body encased in
Dreft-washed Elmo PJs
 
Then of course there are the aromas of
belly laughs and
dark, dark eyes and
the eternal smiles of sleep
 
The small grasp of your
somehow strong finger while you
dream of times that still
have no meaning [...]

 
I have this horrible predicament in that I cannot live in the present or even in the past—I am constantly living in the future. I do have rare occasions when I can appreciate the moment for what it is.
 
My boy counting butterflies at a nature sanctuary. Flying kites with my family on a windy [...]

 
If I have to hear one more time from:
 
a) our contractor
b) our banker
c) strangers we barely know
 
that I should not have stopped working during a recession, I am going to die. Seriously. Stop stressing me out.
 
Yes, food is more expensive. Yes, gas is ridiculously expensive. Yes, our cost of living is definitely more than what [...]

 
How does one dress for a
Catholic school open house?
When you
sometimes look in the mirror and
are shocked to realize you are
even a mother.
 
So far your expertise with
dressing yourself is in
 
first dates
happy hours
concerts
weddings (including your own)
business meetings
 
But never as a Protestant mother
possibly interested in getting her
sometimes shy 3-year old
into the local Catholic pre-school.
 
Would a pleated, plaid [...]

 
My child is more advanced at networking at age three than I was at age twenty-three (hence, the nine months post-college it took ME to find a job). He also has a hefty list of goals that include:
 
1) Grow up and become a man so he can shave and go to work with Dadda.
2) Meet [...]