Parenting

Whiplash

Clearly the new normal thing is going to take time to get used to. Co-existing over Catherine’s winter break was like trying to do a dance we didn’t know the steps to. No one was able to teach us either. Now that she’s not quite a grownup, but no longer a kid, it all seems … Continue reading →

Flashback Friday — Portrait of the Artist

Wish the photo quality was better, but still can’t resist posting this picture of Catherine on our patio in 2000. She was 4. Life is good when you have your own, appropriately sized, fish-festooned, table and chairs; matching umbrella to shade you from the sun; a full sippy cup and snack; a fresh coloring book ready … Continue reading →

Wordless Wednesday — Sight for Sore Eyes

Flashback Friday — Sounds of the Season

Lots of things are missing this holiday season. As we have been since August, when we left Catherine and the carload of stuff at the dorm at Hofstra, Basil and I remain a bit unmoored. Little by little we’re finding our way to a new normal, but one of the holes in our holiday prep this … Continue reading →

Flashback Friday — Game of Telephone

Flashback to August 1997. Catherine was 16 months old, all squishy snuggles, full of wonder and curiosity, and already putting an active imagination to work. We were visiting my parents — a special treat for Catherine, especially since it meant a chance to play with Grandpa. Grandpa must have needed to “rest his eyes” for a … Continue reading →

Life as We Knew It

Well, the big day is here. This morning, we deliver Catherine and the 3,000 things she had to have to Hofstra University. Everyone else is sleeping. I’ve been up since 4:45, head pounding from clenching my teeth all night, trying my darndest to program “stoic” in to my emotional framework for the day — if … Continue reading →

No Shoe Loose Here

It’s fascinating to see how Catherine’s mind works and where her priorities lie. For all our similarities she remains very much her own person. Case in point: Most of the summer, she’s turned a deaf ear to my, er, suggestions that perhaps some laundry and early packing efforts are in order as dorm move-in day nears. So … Continue reading →

Flashing Back and Making Memories

Less than two weeks til dorm move-in day at Hofstra and the emotions continue to ratchet up here in the house. Lots of excitement, a fair bit of anxiousness, all tinged with a pressing sense of “holy cow, we’d better get our acts together and finish all those things we were going to do.” Although we’re … Continue reading →

Getting oriented to the new normal

It has been a quiet couple of days. I’m not tripping over 17 pairs of cute size 5 shoes left in the doorway. No dishes are piled in the kitchen sink. (The task of bending over to put them in the adjacent dishwasher is — let’s face it — arduous.) We’ve not been inundated by … Continue reading →

Flashback Friday — Put Your Hands Up

Basil’s march through the file cabinet continues, unearthing all manner of things we’ve squirreled away. Some of them — like the receipt for the long-dead vacuum — make us shake our heads. Others elicit smiles (and make me question the logic of Basil’s filing system). Take this, from when Catherine was 6, or so we … Continue reading →