When family rides out a storm together, that’s when the wind really starts to blow.
This winter, including these last few days, many families are finding themselves snowed in. Mother Nature doesn’t really care if you’ve got a house full of complaining children who can’t find anything good on television. I’m hearing from plenty of women who want to know how to entertain kids during the 29th snow day this [...]
Friday Night Lights
…a blast from the past.
Jews have been following a certain routine of rest for thousands of years and, in our house, Shabbat breaks down this way:
I light candles and cover my eyes, while everyone else covers their ears. Then I sing a prayer of thanks and try to get one note right. Afterward, the man [...]
United we stand, divided we fall apart
“You’re a lucky woman.”
“You’re a lucky man.”
How many times has an older person said that to you? Women over sixty watch your husband changing diapers, making dinner, or taking the pennies out of his pockets before missing the hamper. They practically genuflect. Retired men see your wife earning a living, carting the kids all over [...]
How to survive youth sports
These past few months have been great. I can power-walk at the local field without suffering a concussion from random fly balls. I can shop for groceries without worrying that an entire team of ten year-olds will vote me out of the league for bringing granola bars and water for Snack Day. I’ve finally found [...]
Immunize me or you’ll catch it too
Aren’t new parents funny? They finally get their beautiful and fresh-smelling bundle of joy to sleep, go online to brag about Apgar scores with 500 of their closest Facebook friends, and advocate some of the most bizarre and mind-baffling ideas since the womb song.
Believe me, I’m only a drunken evening and missed period away from [...]
Ten years of two
I did something the other day I swore I’d never do.
No, I’m not talking about voting Republican or driving through downtown Gainesville. I’m talking about something truly embarrassing and unworthy of a former punk queen who hung out in Ybor City before they installed street lights.
I put together 77 of my children’s photos for [...]
My annual newsletter
‘Tis the season for holiday cards and form letters. That’s right. Check out those cards and one or two are usually stuffed with an annoying newsletter. Some family you hardly talk to sends along an impressive list of achievements designed to catch you up. It’s filled with boring anecdotes about the family vacation in Paris, [...]
“The yellow one’s the sun!” Why science projects suck.
There aren’t many statements that bring on a headache like, “Mom, we have to pick a science project.”
I know history and literature. Graphing data and proving a hypothesis makes me tired and confused. When my kids ask for help that doesn’t include a fun dissertation on why Woodrow Wilson was an ass, they almost always [...]
Volunteering can be tricky
My children’s school requires parents to volunteer their time. I believe the requirement is five hours a year. Not bad right? Technically, my five hours were up that time I drove a car full of 4th grade boys to a cultural fair and spent the day bankrolling lemonade purchases after all their money “disappeared” near [...]
Catherine Durkin Robinson
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she’s crafty
