My four-year-old son and I were in our car on the way to Trader Joe's last Wednesday when this Seatrain song telling the Biblical story of Job came up on the CD my dad made for me. I turned off the engine right after the line, "Long, long they journeyed until they found Job in … Continue reading Hear now the Tale of Job!
Wisdom
When Kids Show Up at Your Demo
I wrote this article in 1999, when I was not yet a parent but was noticing that many adults I knew were very awkward when relating to children or actually tried to exclude children from fun activities rather than figure out how the kids could fit in. I mentioned this to Kristin Looney, whose company … Continue reading When Kids Show Up at Your Demo
My Secret Journey
This is just a little story from my life. I can't think of a good reason to post it, except that it keeps tugging on the corner of my mind and wanting to be told. I hope that somehow, it makes a difference to somebody. Pregnancy made me very sick. The nausea hit suddenly on the … Continue reading My Secret Journey
Vinegar Hairwashing
UPDATE: I also wrote a newer article on vinegar hairwashing as a guest post for The Greenbacks Gal. Check it out for even more detailed information! If you have comments, please post them here so I'll be sure to see them. I wash my hair with vinegar instead of shampoo. Why? The original reason was … Continue reading Vinegar Hairwashing
Toaster Oven Tip
A standard square cake pan, pie pan, or bread pan may fit into your toaster-oven.I can't believe I never thought of this before! Somehow, I had gotten the idea that the reason toaster-ovens often come with their own pan and the reason special toaster-oven pans are sold is that pans designed for regular ovens are … Continue reading Toaster Oven Tip
The Way I Usually Do It
A couple of weeks ago, we were making one of our family's favorite dinners: beans, guacamole, diced tomato, and chips. As usual, Daniel was Mexicanating the beans while I made the guacamole. Nicholas decided, for the first time, that he wanted to help with the guacamole instead of the beans. I showed him how I … Continue reading The Way I Usually Do It
More about shyness
My mother just read my article on shyness and suggested a couple of additions. One is an anecdote I'd never heard before: At the last parent/teacher meeting of each elementary school year, your teachers confided how pleased they were that "Rebecca has finally started to come out of her shell." Every year. They were so … Continue reading More about shyness
The Seven-Minute Stretch
It's amazing how just a few minutes of stretching can change everything. Just moving around a little bit for a little while gets the blood flowing through your muscles and brain, makes you more flexible, reminds you to breathe, lifts your mood, and makes the various motions of daily life easier and less likely to … Continue reading The Seven-Minute Stretch
Living by the Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do; and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout. These words are … Continue reading Living by the Girl Scout Law
Breaking the shell of shyness
I was a shy child. I liked to be around people and was very interested in them, but for some reason I found it difficult to talk to unfamiliar people or even to feel that they were looking at me, and I was nervous that I might do something "wrong" that would make people yell at or laugh … Continue reading Breaking the shell of shyness
That’s all.
Just as I thought it was going all right, I found out I'm wrong when I thought I was right. It's always the same. It's just a shame. That's all. These are the opening lyrics to a Genesis song that comforts me when things go wrong between Daniel and me. It's about the frustration of … Continue reading That’s all.
There go the helpers!
One day when my son was a tiny baby, I was walking with him along the main street of our neighborhood when an ambulance went screaming past. Just ahead of us on the sidewalk were a little boy and his mother, and they jumped up and down shouting happily, "There go the helpers!" Wow. What … Continue reading There go the helpers!
Quit faking it. They need the bed.
Back in 1997 I got kind of crazy for a while, and one day when I was on my way to work everything was so horrible and seemed so hopeless that I started crying on the bus, which is in itself an incredibly depressing experience: Nobody will look at you; they just pretend you don't … Continue reading Quit faking it. They need the bed.
One Thing and Three Things
[adapted from a post to a discussion board when our son Nicholas was 19 months old] When I was a young adult, having trouble adjusting to working full-time on a fixed schedule with a commute instead of being in the more flexible environment of college, and also was having some other problems that led me to … Continue reading One Thing and Three Things
Things I Learned from My Mom
Mothers are people too. It's wonderful to be female. Speak up for what you believe. It's okay to be different from the natives. It's more important to have things that are enjoyable and useful than to be fashionable. Cooking is worthwhile. Plants are wonderful. Take a walk. The world is made up of interwoven stories.
Things I Learned from My Dad
Different people like different things. Divide your money as soon as you get it. Save money so you won't have to borrow. A good education is worth the price. Water is your active ingredient. Don't do that just because you can. Computers are fun and useful.
The Earthling's Handbook 