Dear Elisabeth…. Wow! You have been so READY for today. You packed your backpack days ago. You set out the perfect first-day-of-school outfit last night. As we’ve talked and prayed about this year, you’ve said over and over: I want to do everything right. Elisabeth, you are outstanding at doing what’s right. You are a homework-finishing, uniform-wearing, seated-before-the-bell-rings...Continue Reading
Dear Nate… You are so ready for Kindergarten. You have heard the stories about how ridiculously fun Mrs. Miesner is. You have watched the Kindergarten classes as they played big-kid instruments at chapel. You have heard unbelievable tales of Kindergarteners reading whole books–on their own. You have listened wide-eyed to the incredible stories of a class with no naps, who has cooking lessons and...Continue Reading
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Help me accept our schedule is about to be nuts. Summer is family interdependence, melting into each other, and learning life together. Next up: jarring tardy bells, horrible flash cards, afternoon practices, and late nights of fractions. These will blow our family cocoon to smithereens. Give me the...Continue Reading
This question haunts moms: what does my kid really do all day? No matter how many different way I ask my kids about their days, their hopes, their fears, and what makes them happy or hurts them, they don’t give great answers. During the school year is the worst. At the end of every day, I feel like a...Continue Reading
Our family is back from almost two weeks of vacation. We have done justice to the Family Road Trip. We have travelled thousands of miles in our dirty minivan. We have peed in hot gas station bathrooms and eaten terrible breakfasts at hole-in-the-wall cafes. Yesterday we drove 900 miles in a little over 13 hours. Instead of stopping for...Continue Reading
Maybe you’re like me and your relationship with your iPhone has become codependent. Maybe you need an Apple Watch. Here’s how it’s worked for me, tell me if it sounds familiar. Your phone is no longer a tool to help you save time. Yes, you can thumb-type texts and emails to everyone you know. Those of...Continue Reading
Stress is not a choice. Just getting out of bed is stress. Getting out of your pajamas is definite stress and let’s not even talk about checking your email. Then there are the really epic stressors, like finding your life’s purpose. Or raising kids without being both aloof and clingy. Or trying to make it through the day without eating an entire tub...Continue Reading
Here’s what happened when our family unplugged from our busy schedules. Spoiler alert: in just a couple weeks, our usually efficient household became a frat house of sloth. It all started in May, when the busy month fried our family. We gritted our teeth through every ballet recital, every end-of-the-year party, and every research paper, holding on to the glittering promise of...Continue Reading
Last week I wrote about brothers and sisters and that I worry how our kids’ relationships will turn out. Is their constant fighting a sign of what’s to come? Is there any way their friendships can stay intact through their childhood hurts and tough adolescence? Honestly, the odds of our kids staying close seems dismal. Most adults I know struggle to get along with...Continue Reading
Summer feels like suddenly going camping with all your co-workers. When there’s not much on the schedule, everyone gets real. The kids become each other’s best (and worst) playmates. These brothers and sisters suddenly have all day for sword fighting, baking, giggling, Lego-building, and daydreaming together. Like other moms, I watch my kids playing and fighting and wonder what this...Continue Reading
