I haven't written about Jack in a long time. Around the time we moved back to Ireland, he began to place a high value on privacy. It was both endearing and frightening, my firm motherly hold on my firstborn seeming to slip ever so slightly.
Read moreJack was the first
Every mother has a birth story. Some of us have several and all of them are memorable. I've never heard a birth story where my jaw didn't hit the floor in one way or the other. Just last week an acquaintance of mine shared her beautiful birth story with me...
Read moreHow to be called (on your birthday)
So, we call you Jack, now.
I mean, we've always called you Jack. Your grandparents, aunts, uncles and sister call you Jack, and it has bounced between our tongues in our home from the moment we carried you into that first apartment. But to others, to the outsiders, to those whom we love but are still somewhat separate from our tight crew, you have always been Jackson. Until now.
Read moreA gentle reproof over white coffee
We went on a date, the eldest and I. He's been curious about coffee for some time, and I can only assume this is a result of the frequent "Dad's Meeting Someone For Coffee"-and-"Mommy's Working From the Coffeeshop"-convos we have with the little people. He wasn't so sure on actually trying any of the black stuff, but was curious about this White Coffee his sister talks so much about (she who was known to finish our homemade lattes at the ripe old age of 2).
So we set a time: Sunday, dusk. Cold snap and rain clouds. Tall steamed milk with peppermint (him) and tall nonfat pumpkin spiced chai (me). In mugs, for maximum foaminess, please. We chat over the Sunday paper.
"So, how was your week?" he asks in his very best Man Tone.
Read moreMom, can I start a blog? :: 31 days of messy parenting {day 26}
"Mom, can I start a blog?"
The eldest came at me with this request last week, not altogether out-of-the-blue. He is the super imaginative one, artistic and book-wormy and writer of notes and short stories. Still, I huffed a little bit.
"A blog? Why do you want to start a blog?" I asked him, probably not even looking at him, probably while I myself was on the computer.
Read more
