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We just came through parent-teacher conference season again, and what we learned in Julianna’s home visit was that although she can read a page that looks like this: her comprehension is stuck on pages that look like this: For anything more complicated than Corduroy, I have to sit with her, read with her, and stop…
Read More1. I once played my flute on Circular Quay in Sydney, Australia. (See the opera house behind me?) 2. I was once locked in a coffin. (It was for a play called “You Didn’t Say It Was Haunted.” That play was where I learned that an introvert can actually scream in front of a lot…
Read MoreWhen you go visit the farm with boys, you just never know what you might find waiting in the driver’s seat when it’s time to go home.
Read MoreLast Monday, I had a great plan for dinner. It was quite relaxing. It involved leftovers and a microwave. And bar cookies made from a box cake mix. (Totally not my normal modus operandi for cooking, but y’know.) At 4:20, Nicholas arrived home from Chess Club and came into the kitchen. “Did you make the…
Read MoreLife has been feeling pretty overwhelming lately. If I haven’t given out that vibe, just look back at the fluffy blog posts I’ve been publishing, trying to avoid talking about it. I’m not sure why it seems so much harder right now. Really, not all that much has changed. Maybe this is what people mean…
Read MoreThe other day, Michael and I looked through a couple of scrapbooks, and I was so impressed with some of the photos I’ve taken in the last couple of years, I just wanted show off share. First, photos of Christian and his mother making “hats.” Orecchiette, technically, but Christian and his siblings grew up calling…
Read MoreWhen the phone rang during my oh-so-precious work time the other day, I almost decided to ignore it without even checking the caller ID. But there’s always the chance it’s somebody’s school. Which in this case, it was–Julianna’s. It turned out there had been a minor altercation on the bus. Julianna kept touching a boy’s backpack, even…
Read MoreWhen I was ten years old, I dreamed of being an Olympic figure skater. I didn’t get to go ice skating very often because we either had to wait for the pond to freeze or we had to drive an hour and a half to the nearest rink. We went once or twice a year,…
Read MoreThe youngest child is always the funniest one. It’s a rule. While I was gone for Liturgical Composers Forum, the two women who had morning duty both sent me messages to tell me things about my youngest child. Exhibit A: Uh-huh. Star Wars. Avengers. Hark the Herald Angels. Oddwalk’s Gorilla song. Frosty.…
Read MoreI’ve heard people say that wallpapering is a test of a marriage. I think they should try critiquing each other’s creative work. Christian has always been my earliest set of eyes on a piece of music, and unlike most people, he’s never felt inhibited about telling me exactly what’s wrong with it. In the early…
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Kathleen M. Basi 