I love this season of innocence. Even when it’s not so jolly. This weekend we cut down our Christmas tree and I was reminded of the look on Owen’s face in a picture I took last December, a picture I now love. I was reminded of how hard things were mid-December, last year. How un-jolly […]
I recently read Maura Quint’s “The Entirety of My Thoughts As I Eat My Son’s Mac and Cheese Dinner,” cleaned my children’s bedrooms and closet-size playroom, and was then inspired to write this: Didn’t 4 year olds work in fields 150 years ago? Probably not. That actually sounds awful. But still, mine should at least […]
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” —Norman Vincent Peale
I need to talk about today. Because today has been, well, awful. Everyone’s sick. That’s not true. James and Sophie went to school today. But everyone has been sick, at some point, since Thanksgiving. For all of us it’s been a feverish cold but then today Owen threw up his toast. And now he’s hungry […]
It’s February. Our Christmas garland is still hanging on our front porch. Ever see the Everybody Loves Raymond episode titled “Baggage” (season 7)? In it, Ray and Debra return from a weekend trip and temporarily leave their suitcase on the staircase landing. Weeks pass with them both refusing to carry it the rest of the […]
We watched “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” tonight and it reminded Andy of this video. He played it for the kids—I forgot how much I love it. So it’s an oldie (December 2011), but one of our family’s favorites. “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how […]
We eat clementines like candy during the winter months. Although Sophie doesn’t technically eat them. She prefers to suck all the juice out, leaving the skins all over her plate (and the dining room table, and coffee table and cup holder in the van). The bowl was a Christmas present from my parents—it’s made by […]
We celebrated Christmas with my mom’s side of the family after Christmas, due to sickness and weather. With family living in California, Kansas, Colorado and Pennsylvania, it’s hard to get everyone together so it was a small celebration, but fun nonetheless. And Ben, my cousin who teaches in Bethel, Alaska, was in town (he’s the […]
Finding the perfect tree at Burlington Tree Farm. Decorating the tree. Sophie’s handmade Christmas present to us, from preschool (she couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to us). A late night writing Christmas postcards. Christmas at Great Grandma Gebhart’s house + handmade train whistles from my uncle Skip. Greg Pop Pop’s lap overflowing with […]
I was 6 years old, the first time I saw The Nutcracker. I still have the program from the Cincinnati Ballet Company—I pull it out every Christmas. And I can I still remember the wonderment I felt when Mother Ginger lifted her enormous skirt and a dozen children danced out of it. So I don’t […]
