“Mommy, that boy called me stupid.” I shaded my eyes against the yellow heat of the sinking sun and saw Alex, his big brown eyes simultaneously wide and droopy, pressed against chain link as if trying to squeeze through the backstop and draw comfort from me. I hitched Michael up onto my hip and got…
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Core
And Then, My Laundry Pile Moved…
It’s a crazy day as usual in the Basi household. My mother would shake her head if she saw me stepping through the laundry pile at the top of my stairs, on my way to drop the last diaper in the washing machine before I run it. Detergent, push, spin the dial, pull, wash hands, step through…
Read MoreClose To Me
Scene: Morning on Spring Break, time to go outside and play. I’m going through the complicated maneuver of putting on Julianna’s shoes with a growth on my back. Scene: 8:30 Mass on a Sunday morning. We’re sitting in the front pew–taking up the whole front pew– and it’s time to kneel down. Only I can’t.…
Read MoreFirst Grade Sex Ed
I learned more about my son’s first grade class in ten minutes on the highway than I’ve learned all year at the dinner table. We were returning from picking up a friend for an overnight. As my crowded van sped down the highway, the boys started discussing school. “Do you remember (X) doing his freak-out…
Read MoreThe Passing of the Baby Years
It crept up on me, this wistfulness. A feeling that these days are slipping away like pearls through my fingers. The way he looks at me and the wiggles settle into stillness. The way his whole face lights up when he smiles, just because I looked at him and said hello. Moments that make my…
Read MoreA Portrait of Nicholas
This isn’t something I do often, but just for my own sake, I want to share a glimpse of my kids, separate from how they interact with me (which is what I usually write). Since I’ve been struggling with the stage Nicholas is in a lot lately, it seems like a good idea to start…
Read MoreWhat Luke Skywalker Taught Me About Motherhood
It was one of those days.To wit: Michael would not consent to be laid down…all day. Imagine. Every time I tried to make lunch, use the bathroom, or aid another child in a self-care task, I had to endure heartbreaking wails. Nicholas kept whimpering pathetically, “I want you, Mommy!” (translated: I want to sit on your…
Read MoreTwenty-Seven Days
If you knew you only had twenty-seven days, how would you live life differently? I spoke recently to a friend whose daughter gave birth to a child they knew was not going to live. Indeed, it was a miracle that the child was not stillborn. “People tiptoe around us,” she said. “They’re afraid to ask.…
Read MoreNicholas’s Transition
About a month ago, a friend stopped me after church and asked with a little smile, “So how’s life with four?” I knew what she was asking: transition. “Actually,” I said, “it hasn’t been a big deal this time, as far as the kids go. Everybody’s handling it really well.” But even as she spoke,…
Read MoreGlamourazzi!
I am a mother of boys by nature, so it’s a good thing that my only girl is half-wildebeest. But even so, I know how to make my boys’ hearts sing, and I often feel perplexed by the puzzle of how to connect with Julianna. But last night? Last night, we rocked. We’ve been connected…
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Kathleen M. Basi 