Tagged: offspring

21
Aug
2006

WHEN ‘FLOORED’ IS SIMPLY INADEQUATE AS AN ADJECTIVE

This morning at Karin’s first day of first grade, we parents stood in a line along the back wall, while our excited children found their randomly placed names on the school desks throughout the room and sat down. Each child had a pencil and eraser with their names written on them and a small blue plastic box filled with shiny new crayons. The boxes had a piece of masking tape stripped across the cover and each child immediately grabbed their pencil and plotted their name in large capital letters across the box. The teacher introduced herself and her 2 assistants...

20
Aug
2006

THERE ARE WORSE THINGS I COULD DO

The kids have been watching Grease lately. They watched it once before about a year ago and liked it, but had apparently forgotten about it until they were reminded by an ad for the musical which is coming this fall to Malmö. It’s fun to watch and hear all the music again, but some of the scenes make me a bit uncomfortable to sit watching with my 7 and 8.5-year-olds, in light of the fact that the subject is sex, albeit obliquely referred to most of the time. Because really, how AM I going to explain what Kenickie is talking...

28
Apr
2006

TODAY IS THE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE

On April 28th, 2004, the sun was shining in an electric-blue sky and Anders was gone for a week to Italy, which meant I had to take the kids with me to choir that night. On April 28th, 2005, the leaves were greening, the house was flooded with evening sunshine and an airplane had delivered a loved one safely home. Also, the children did not have headlice. On April 28th, 2006, the sun has been shining all day in an electric-blue sky, and Anders has been gone for a week to Italy, which meant I had to take the kids...

17
Apr
2006

ROUNDUP

Last week was a 4-day work week, because we got Good Friday off. And this week is a 4-day work week because we get tomorrow, “the day after Easter,” off as well. But! It’s also a 3-day work week because we are taking Friday off and going up to spend 3 days relaxing on the cliffy coast of western Sweden north of Gothenburg. Hopefully, we’ll be able to meet up with studiozoe as well, one of those days. I am still feeling guilty and embarrassed because of my mistake last week. It was a result of too-many-Traceys syndrome. See, I...

06
Mar
2006

HOLD STILL!

Right now, right this minute, I do not wish for a happy future for my children. I don’t want them to grow up and older and move away and marry and have children of their own and live happy lives far into a future where I no longer exist. No. Don’t move, I think. Don’t grow…stay right where you are. Right now, right this minute, I am indulging in the most selfish selfishness possible: I want to stop time from fleeting and KEEP them as they are RIGHT now. What was I talking about yesterday? The beauty of the ephemeral?...

12
Feb
2006

VACILLATION

Whoa, Nellie! Why suddenly now do I feel that there is no one at the reins? The image of myself as a runaway horse makes me laugh, but I’m not so sure this cutting down, trimming back, saying no thing is working out so well for me. I feel totally at loose ends. It’s starting to stress me out. HAHAHA *snort* It’s not exactly stressing me out, I admit, but I DO feel at loose ends, at least a bit. Every weekend that we have few or no plans finds me teetering back and forth: Sleep in…NO! Get things done!...

16
Jan
2006

CAREER PATHS

When I was 17 I thought a career in childcare was a definite possibility. I was good with kids and they liked me, and I could round them up, sit them down and get them to be quiet within minutes. I remember flooring a couple of teachers that I worked with as an aide my first few days at the daycare on the outskirts of Michigan State, when they came into a room that a few minutes earlier had been expanding like a JiffyPop, to find the 5-year-olds and I seated in a large bunched circle on the floor, quiet...

24
Dec
2005

LEAN YOUR EAR THIS WAY

Nearly all the presents are wrapped in shiny red, green and white paper. There are still some stocking stuffers to do, but that won’t take long tonight. Presents are under the tree for opening today, or carefully hidden away for “American” Christmas morning tomorrow. Tins of cookies fill up one entire corner of the kitchen, and a bowl full of clementines provides a bright spot on this rainy day. Rain on Christmas! It’s a true Skåne holiday. Farmor and farfar are on their way, they’ll be arriving just in time for Kalle Anka, the traditional Swedish Disney hour…and after that...

23
Nov
2005

THIS BLOG HAS MORE COWBELL THAN IT KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH

Songs I’ve sung to my children, WITH FEELING, the past few days: 1) To the tune of “Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer” Jaws, a mouth, a great big mouth Teeth, those things that kind of crunch Chomp! the way sharks say hello Us, his favorite quickie lunch! Blood, which turns the ocean red Gulp, which means a shark’s been fed, Splash! which makes a swimmer pause… Which will bring us back to Jaws, jaws, jaws, jaws! 2) Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts, Mutilated monkey meat Roast toasty birdy feet French-fried eyeballs floating in a pool of...

30
Oct
2005

HALLOWEENIES

I want to be in the U.S. next year for Halloween. I want my kids to experience it RIGHT. We had the AWC Halloween party today and while it was really nice, if a bit chaotic, it was just a masquerade with decorations. A couple of years ago we got to participate in the closest thing to a real Halloween since we moved to Sweden, courtesy of a friend who put her heart and soul into making sure her children got to experience as close to the real thing as possible, and it was wonderful, but I really, REALLY want...

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