Kid Amnesiac

I’m no fan of rigid gender stereotypes in general, but I particularly dislike how color coded things have gotten. It seems like almost everyone I know who opted to learn her baby’s gender before birth did it so she* could “get the nursery ready” or “shop for clothes before the baby arrives.” After all, if […]

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Brandeis offers rewards to students each month who exemplify a certain characteristic. One month it might be “generosity”, another it might be “conscientiousness.” I’m nominating Simon for the “self control” award. Actually, I’m unilaterally awarding it to him, and I defy anyone to challenge me. This is a kid who has been corrected at school […]

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Picture the scene. It’s about 10:30 p.m. Simon is upstairs in bed, and Matt and I are downstairs in the living room. He’s sorting electronics parts and I’m collating PTA flyers while we both keep an eye on the Arsenal Champions League qualifying game. Suddenly, I think I hear footsteps. A few seconds later, I […]

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Much to my surprise, the era of Dirty Dog and Dirty Dog’s Twin appears to have reached an end. For the past week or so, they have spent the night with me, as Simon has determined that I can “take care of the 7-year-olds” while he attends to the younger set. This is all a […]

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It has come to my attention that I haven’t been doing a good job of helping Simon become more independent. This is largely the result of his being an only child; there wasn’t anyone younger or needier to divert me away from him when he was two or three, so I’ve kept on doing certain […]

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Second grade started Wednesday this week and brought with it a bundle of mixed emotions including trepidation, concern, anxiousness, and fear. It’s probably the worst I’ve felt about the beginning of a school year since the early days of preschool. There were two primary reasons for this. The first, as I’ve mentioned before, is the […]

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