Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

To begin I know that there are Moms who like to fix things and haul crap around in the back of a pick up truck.  I know that there are some Dads in the world who can bake adorable cupcakes and plait up the meanest french braid you've ever seen.  I also strive to teach my girls that they can basically do all of the stuff that boys traditionally do except play on the "skins" team in a "shirts vs. skins" basketball game.  If you don't know me by now, you will never, never, never know me. All of that being said, it is true that my husband and I tend to fall into pretty traditional gender roles at our house.  I stay home with the kids, live much of my life in the kitchen (often whilst barefoot), and I am the one who gathers food, clothing, and home necessities around town.  My husband works in the outside world, organizes our finances, and takes care of home maintenance and pest control.  It works well for us most of the time.  So... this post is less ab...

Routines are good for children.  This seemed a logical fact when I had my first baby ten years ago.  That first baby was not a textbook/easy/sleepy baby, so logic and all of my parenting books told me that what she required was a stricter, more serious routine.  Surely that would sort her out.  I remember holding her in my arms in her dark nursery, swaying back and forth while counting the number of times I lovingly stroked her back.  When I reached 150, it was time to lay her down in her crib and leave the room whether she was ready or not.  That was the routine.  I was 25 years old, had no idea what I was doing, and I was certain she was judging me harshly through her tear-filled eyes.  I clung to my routines for at least six months because I was sure that they were all that was holding us together.  At some point I figured out that all of my routines were robbing me of the joys of motherhood, so I went in a differ...

I promised my brother in law that I would share the fictional war journal that was written by my daughter Emma for a school project a couple of months ago.  Needless to say, she was given an A+ on this one, and her mama is a bit proud.  I used to teach fourth grade writing, and in my experience, this is rather extraordinary writing for a nine-year-old.  My apologies for tooting my own daughter's horn.  Of course she says that she doesn't like writing, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  Enjoy... April 17,1861 Do people on one side ever notice those who are not?  The ones who have not chosen sides are important too.  They call us neutrals.  Some of us write for newspapers.  We are good at it too.  Some stories seem to be like swimming across the Atlantic Ocean: never ending.  Of course it's hard to get news in a damp, dark dungeon.  The cruel blackness is blinding like a whip. April 18, 1861 Every morni...