Mom Versus Wasp
Can wasps even see with their creepy eyes? That might seem like a weird question, but I have such a vivid memory of staring down a wasp that I’m going to say, yes, they can. Wasps can see us with…
Playdough Parenting
“There’s a sign-up sheet on the table!” is the last thing any working parent wants to hear during back-to-school night at a preschool. If I’m completely honest, I remember being skeptical of it being called back-to-school night in the first…
Mom Truths About Summer Camps
Dear parents who might be thinking about camps and activities for your children this summer – please, take a deep breath. I mean this in the kindest and most sympathetic way possible. Everything will be okay. You see, every year…
Help Your Kids Not Vape
How can someone so smart be so damn stupid?” My mother hugged me tightly and didn’t let go. When the hug lingered longer than usual, I knew she had picked up the smell of cigarettes in my hair. I had…
Taste of Christmas
It was my first cookie swap, and I was ready to wow friends and co-workers with my culinary skills and creativity. Of course, I would bake my mother’s semi-famous, wholly delicious pineapple cookies. Of course, this would be a fantastic…
8 Things I’m Grateful for and Why
It’s that time of year again, the season of giving thanks. You might be making a mental inventory of blessings, jotting down ideas for Facebook statuses, or lining up pictures for Instagram posts that proclaim unceasing gratitude in the most…
All Together Now … Ten Years of RFM!
“I can’t imagine having a real job,” is a thing I used to say sometimes. Until my oldest daughter, who recently graduated from college and joined the workforce full-time, looked at me sternly and said, “Mom, stop saying that! You…
All Eyes on the School Supplies
For my first grader, it was kind of a big deal. Every day, a classmate I’ll call Joey asked to borrow a different color marker. He always gave it right back to her, but he was heavy-handed, so sometimes the…
Homebody Summers
With five minutes left before the big switch from the art room to the music room, my fellow Vacation Bible School volunteer had a circle of adorable 5-year-olds to entertain, mine included. “Let’s tell everyone where we’re going on vacation…
Some Thoughts on Childcare
“The funniest thing happened today!” She said it with a nervous giggle. I had just started using full-time childcare for my firstborn, who I was picking up after a day at the office. A lovely and enthusiastic twenty-ish woman plucked…
