I’ll blame it on watching “Logan” late at night. I had this vivid dream in which we were at my parents’ church and in the middle of the Gospel, I realized Julianna’s bus was due to drop her off at home in five minutes. Only my parents’ church is 35 minutes away, and by the…
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The trials and tribulations of Kate, mother
In the past week, a couple things have happened in my world. First, we learned that our 5 1/2-year-old needs a nap after school. Luckily, it only took us two days to realize what was going on. Unluckily, we haven’t figured out how to make it really work yet, so sometimes it happens, and sometimes…it…
Read MoreIn Which A Recovering Social Loser Processes Her Kids’ Social Status (or lack thereof)
Elementary school and junior high were no picnic. I had my first breakup in the fifth grade, and it wasn’t even a romantic relationship. My best friend…okay, let’s be honest, my only friend…came over while I was sharpening my pencil by the coat rack and said, “I think we should be friends with other people.”…
Read MoreParenthood: A Series of Un-Winnable Battles
It’s happening more and more often these days. I find myself frustrated with something my kids are doing (or not doing), saying (or not saying), and I think: Did we act like this when I was a kid? How did my parents deal with this? There are long stretches of life when you sort of…
Read MoreA Manifesto on Parenting
When I was newly married, I spent one year substitute teaching in the local schools. That was a very educational experience. There was the elementary school that was universally viewed as the worst in the district (it has since been closed and reopened as a Title One/gifted/Early Childhood location), which started requesting me after I…
Read MoreHow We Taught Our Kids To Be Good Eaters
My kids are really good eaters. I’m kind of surprised at this, frankly, because I am and always have been a pretty picky eater. And the thing is, we approach food all “wrong,” according to all the parenting advice I ever read. We’ve almost always forced our children to finish what they’re given—unless it’s starch,…
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The Gift I Have To Give Is Me
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 MoreThe Minor Frustrations Involved In Raising My Chromosomally-Gifted Girl
When 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 MoreKate’s Universal Laws Of Parenting
Ear infections always and only come up after the doctor’s office has closed for the night. Or during a 20-inch snow storm. The child who gets chronic ear infections is inevitably the one who’s also allergic to penicillin. Paperwork is evil. Where children, there noise. If no noise, beware. Just because they don’t react doesn’t…
Read MoreA Message for Young Moms From Someone with A Little More Experience
The day school let out for Christmas, I walked seven kids, ages 5 to 11, about a mile from school to the mall, across nine lanes of traffic on one of the busiest roads in town, so we could ring the Salvation Army bell at JCPenney. And I wasn’t nervous about it. I knew it…
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Kathleen M. Basi 