We all make note of our children’s “firsts:” their first smile, first tooth, first step, first day of kindergarten. Especially with my youngest, as my kids moved on to big milestones (moving from elementary to middle school, for example) I started noting the lasts, with more than a little melancholy. With the youngest, these lasts were also lasts for me. […]
When I first became a mom, I looked forward to doing things with my children that I had enjoyed growing up. It didn’t occur to me then that embracing my kids interests instead would be so rewarding. I first realized that this was not to be when my oldest asked to take ballet lessons. My mother tried for years to […]
By Kimberly Yavorski I think you get to a certain point in your life when you realize how important it is to have true friends and to keep yourself open to making new ones. Years ago, a parent of one of my daughter’s classmates suggested we go to breakfast. I really didn’t know her at all, but agreed, thinking it […]
An exciting day is fast approaching. I’ll soon be adding a new name! I have a fancy new dress, ballet slippers for the inevitable point when the heels get to be too much, and several lists of details to take care of before the big day. Along with my family and friends, I’m looking forward to what will be (at […]
Proof of life. Any message, no matter how goofy is acceptable. Since parts of my heart first went off without me (aka my kids going to college), I have had an internal struggle. I want them to stretch and learn and grow as human beings, but also have an almost primal need to know they are okay. I know the […]
My kids push me – in a good way. Over the years, ‘I’ve tried many new things because of them. Sometimes it’s been something I’ve long wanted to do, other times it’s something they’ve chosen. A couple years ago, my daughter and I tried stand up paddle boarding. While I did take an unexpected swim in the process of learning, […]
As I watched my baby graduate college, I thought about how four years before, I hid behind sunglasses, watching her walk across the high school stadium. I knew then that this milestone would change both our lives, yet was unsure of what exactly that meant. In those four years we both grew. We grew apart. We grew together. We both […]
Without meaning to, I may have suggested that parenting teens is all unicorns and roses. It’s not. Parenting teens is my sweet spot. I know it’s not the same for everyone, but it’s the stage I’ve found easiest and most rewarding. While there’s much I loved about the baby phase, babies really don’t do much. I got excited when my […]
I’ll be honest; I remember almost nothing from my college commencement speech. In fact, I had to look up who the speaker was. I remember the sights of the day: the chairs lined up on the grassy area between academic buildings, the stage in front of me, the crowds filling the folding chairs and standing behind them, small children running […]
When I was expecting my third child, I read that children enter a new, but similar stage every three to three and a half years. During this time they strongly assert their independence and challenge the status quo. When I learned this, my kids were seven and three and a half (I wish I had gotten that memo sooner.) Over […]
