You know the story, right? Elizabeth thinks Mr. Darcy is a stuck-up prig. He thinks she’s mean and low-class. She’s nasty to him. Frostiness ensues. Then, after he rescues her sister from ruin, she realizes that he’s just shy. They live happily ever after. I’m living out a much less romantic version of this morality […]
Category Archive for 'Friends'
Other People’s Children
Posted in Friends, Jessica, Uncategorized on Dec 3rd, 2013
Between the preschool and volunteering in Simon’s class, I spend a lot of my time around other people’s children these days. They almost always amuse me, but the occasional child is particularly endearing. These days, I’m especially fond of little Raja and Kalli (names changed). Raja is a spitfire who I suspect causes the occasional […]
Birthday Conundrum
Posted in First Grader, Friends, Jessica on Sep 20th, 2013
It’s Simon’s birthday in a few weeks. Last year, owing to his being at a new school, we skipped the class birthday party and stuck with a family one. Having now gone to at least a dozen class parties in the last year, it’s Simon’s turn to host his school friends. So I booked a […]
Altruism
Posted in First Grader, Friends, Jessica on Sep 16th, 2013
If you’re on Facebook, you know that Simon ran a 5K yesterday. You also know that the event was a charity run for Dare to Care, and that Simon raised $510 for Louisvillians in need of food assistance. And you may have noticed that I was completely shameless in my shilling. Completely, utterly shameless, for […]
Back from vacation, with thoughts about the visit from my Israeli house-guest, whom I will now refer to as Daphna so as to avoid awkward Internet searches in the future. My main takeaway from hosting Daphna was the sometimes disorienting feeling that resulted from being on an unfamiliar side of a class divide. You see, […]
Two weeks ago, I was worried that after a laid-back summer of hitting the pool on the rare days it was hot enough, going for leisurely runs and hikes with Simon, kicking a soccer ball about, and otherwise enjoying the best summer weather we’ve had in years, I would find it really hard to get […]
Sunday night, our family welcomed an Israeli house-guest into our home. Dikla is a shelicha (ambassador) at the JCC’s summer camp, bringing Israeli culture to campers throughout the summer. The program relies on the support of local Jewish families to work, and Matt and I (even though we’re only half Jewish) agreed to participate. I […]
In just a few days, our summer guest, Israeli camp counselor Dikla, arrives at our house. Anxious to learn more about her, I got a short profile from the head of the JCC summer camp program. Aaaaaaand . . . according to a survey she submitted, Dikla is really into mysteries and crime fiction, movies, […]
Hawk Watching
Posted in Friends, Jessica, Kindergartener on Jun 3rd, 2013
Twice in the past week, Simon has done something he shouldn’t. In both instances, I could have easily gotten angry and thrown a fit. In both instances, I chose not to because while the specific action was not OK, the motivation or thinking behind it was actually kind of awesome. I’ll start with the little […]
Epistolary Friendship
Posted in Friends, Jessica, Kindergartener on Apr 14th, 2013
When I first heard that kindergarteners are taught to write—not their ABCs, but actual thoughts and original ideas—I was skeptical of the entire enterprise. Kindergarteners writing? Was that really possible? I am no longer skeptical. In fact, I’m pretty blown away at how five- and six-year-olds can not only be so adept at penning their […]