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Monthly Archives: October 2013

Being James

October 25, 2013 – 12:37 pm

So James and Owen are in preschool. They go five days a week, 9-11:30am. They seem to love it. (I love it.) They’re excited to go in the morning. They’re all smiles when they climb up into the van when their day is done. They sing the songs they learned. They tell me about the […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged blue line, individuality, James, Owen, preschool, progress | Comments (1)

My Dad’s Retirement

October 17, 2013 – 10:44 pm

Work, for my dad, started early—in life and in the day. He grew up on a hog farm in Lewisburg, Ohio. He helped with the hard work of the farm, and my grandparents paid him and his siblings for the work that they did. He went to college, taught, got a master’s degree and taught […]

By kara | Posted in All | Tagged a tavola, andy, colleen, dad, eli's bbq, family, friends, great oaks, James, Katy, Kyle, Nini, Owen, Pop Pop, retirement, Sophie, tom, troy's cafe, work | Comments (1)
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       Yesterday all the shelves at all the stores that once held the easy cartoon/unicorn/emoji/comes-with-a-tattoo Valentines were all empty. (I sent a few curse-filled texts to Andy.) So my sister saved me by sending links to a bunch of free printables (I’m not crafty). Sophie, who loves loves loves to make (honestly quite good) slime immediately fell in love with labels for jars that say “BE MY VALEN-SLIME.” And so here we are, at bedtime, Feb. 13. She says she’s halfway done. Oh! And she says we get to make a box! Thankfully I like shoes.  Last Wednesday night we were in a hotel in Louisville with Sophie (she made all-state choir!) and it was late and nothing was open and she was starving and because we, as parents, are poor planners we had no food for her so we ordered her a hamburger via room service, something we've never done before and something that thrilled her. Mind you, she wanted a plain burger – just a bun and a burger. This, of course, cost about $1,000. It was delivered on a silver tray on a real plate covered in a silver dome accompanied by real silverware and a cloth napkin. Next to it were three tiny glass jars of condiments. This all also thrilled her, especially the tiny glass jar of ketchup, which she insisted we save so she could gift it to Owen. (Owen is that kid who puts ketchup on everything, including things that shouldn't have ketchup on it.) So anyhow, Sophie gifts the little glass jar of ketchup to Owen, which Owen loves SO MUCH that he takes it to his classroom's show-and-tell the next day and tells all his classmates the story (thank you for your patience, Mrs. Jones) and now it sits on his desk next to his other beloved items. I guess I can only hope that tiny glass jars of condiments always bring such joy to my children.  Father/Daughter Dance (last night)   Me, many moons ago: “We will not own Nerf guns.” Andy, many moons ago: “We will not get a cat.”  I’ve told my kids to close their eyes, tilt their heads to the sun and breathe it all in so many times today they’re now ignoring me.  In November I signed up for something new and now I try to go most every day (and look forward to it). It’s hard but it’s stuck and maybe by summer I’ll be closer to the arms I had when I was carrying two ever-growing babies around all day ... or better yet, closer to the abs I had pre-kids .... (One can dream.)  Sophie’s selling Girl Scout cookies again this year! Because we’re behind (with everything, always) we already have boxes at our house! I just guessed an amount we’d sell! So buy these so we don’t have to! (I’m serious.) Also, word on the street is shipping is cheaper this year! Also, a little bird told me GS cookies north of us are $5/box. Ours are $4. Just saying  ..... ✌❤️ (We’re happy to deliver! Just let us know what you want in the comments or PM me. Once it’s warmer Soph will be walking these boxes down the street. Thank you!!!) https://www.abcsmartcookies.com/#/shopify-landing/d39a939e-198a-4529-bb89-0cc31c8a7a26  bookends  Help me.  I don’t even know why I’m posting this, honestly. This picture does little to no justice as to how gorgeous the moon looks right now. (I stood outside in 10 degree weather for 30 minutes — that’s how gorgeous.) And the stars tonight! With the snow. The red moon. Sigh. I woke up Owen, wrapped him in a quilt and carried him barefoot outside for a brief moment. James refused to get out of bed (he also refuses for ocean sunrises). This is here mainly for memory.  Earlier today. Me: “Hey kids! Want to see the super blood wolf moon lunar eclipse tonight?” Kids: “YES!” Andy, eyeballing me: “How late does this happen?” Googles while making a face. Me, exasperated: “How could we NOT let them stay up for this?!” Cue scene currently happening on the couch. It’s 10:23pm. Andy’s gone outside three times already to see if we can see anything so he can send them to bed. I tell Andy we need at least 10 more minutes to be able to see the start of it. And now there’s a cloud. I tell everyone we could wait until after midnight with hopes the cloud will be gone and then we could see the total lunar eclipse. Owen: “Let’s do that!” Now Andy’s showing us all the size of the cloud. And telling us we need to brace ourselves for disappointment. (I believe by “we” he means “me.”) Boys are wrestling again. I’m pouring a second glass of wine.    I’m grateful for the work I do @lostartpress for many reasons, No. 1 being the people I get to work with. Thank you, @burnheartmade, for helping these kiddos make great progress on their pinewood derby cars. You are a kind and patient teacher.  We spent the weekend in Atlanta, celebrating Christmas with the Holdens and Lizz’s birthday, playing musical instruments and having tea parties with Carmen, eating sushi at a restaurant that served plates via conveyor belt (which thrilled the boys) and, of course, holding our new niece/cousin, Freya.  spotted these two trays on a table, Christmas day, on my parents’ porch  Sophie with my dad, on the farm he grew up on.  quick trip to my sister’s house 🥰  Happy New Year! Owen’s wish for 2019 is to be able to play Fortnite. James’s wish is to have shorter eyelashes. May all your New Year wishes come true. ❤️🥂  I’m jumping on the bandwagon with this collage but these 2018 pics chosen by an app represent all happy moments and a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I know it’s easy to look back with rose-colored glasses. 2018 was an exceptionally hard year, for reasons I’ve made public and kept private. But there was great joy, too. So my wish for 2019 is simple: More joy than sorrow. Both always exist. Some years, the balance is off — by a lot. Here’s to tipping the scale a bit, and a heart that is grateful for growth, and each memory shown here, as well as many other good ones, despite the hard days.
    TAP
  • Favorite Essays

    Choosing Compassion in a Culture of Fear

    Seeking the Bigness in the Everyday

    The Love in Trying

    The View from Up High

    Season of Innocence

    The Huffington Post guest post: Apologies to the Parents I Judged Four Years Ago, a TIME's top 10 opinion piece in 2012

    Simple

    Changing Love

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