I’ve been spending some time this week getting things set up for my new website and business. I’m supposed to be resting, but who can rest when there is so much to be done? I’m doing things quietly and purposefully and I don’t feel rushed. For the first time in such a long time, I…
I really hate it when you call your kid a dick
I’ve seen it around social media more and more and it makes me cringe every single time. Mums publicly calling their kid an asshole, dick, bastard, twat, bitch and even a little c*nt. I think it’s supposed to be funny, but I’m not laughing. Actually, it makes me more than cringe. It makes me angry….
How I unspoiled my kids
I shared an article on my Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, that was shared again and again. There is a lot about the article that I don’t agree with (the headline, for one thing), but there was a lot in there that really resonated with me. I am hyper-aware of how it is…
The brick wall of parenting (aka ‘fixing myself’)
Years ago I made a couple of appointments for myself with the lovely psychologist who was treating Max’s anxiety. This was a source of great amusement for a few of my friends, but the fact is that I knew that the person who could have the most profound impact on how Max dealt with his fears –…
When parenting feels too hard
I’m not loving being a mum right now. It’s hard to say that ‘out loud’, but there it is. Lately I feel like I’m carrying Sisyphus on my back as I go through the parenting motions. Up we push the rock, down the rock goes. Up we push the rock, down the spirits go. I’ve…
Re-entry
The end of holidays is a bittersweet time for me. Mainly because I know it sums up all of parenting for me and it makes me sad that I think this way: so very hard to let them go, so very hard to be with them constantly. I have never been that mum who can…
That one thing you didn’t do
My Max often pulls a tummy-ache slash sore-throat slash foot-hurts kind of moment when it’s time for school. Usually some body part or another requires attention right as the bell rings. This is a good day. I’m used to his shennannygoating and have an army of deflections trained to give their lives if necessary. Deflection…
A garage sale happened in my garage
We had ourselves a garage sale last weekend. Who’da thunk it? Not I. I’m a give-it-to-Vinnies, pass it onto friends, list it on freecycle, kinda gal. Remember the pram guy? Anyway, it’s not that I’m completely altruistic, it’s just that selling stuff requires great amounts of effort and I’m just the laziest person on earth….
Some kids are just harder to parent than others
A psychologist told me that. “Some kids are just harder to parent than others,” she said and it seemed to make everything okay in an instant. “Of course!” I thought. “There’s nothing really wrong with my child – he’s just harder to parent than a lot of other kids.” I find this statement comforting, like…
On the parenting rollercoaster
I over-think my children’s life. I imagine scenarios happening that only a grown-up could possibly dream up. I worry about things they haven’t even thought of yet. I see their world through eyes that look far beyond where they need. My brain has forgotten what it’s like to be a child. My husband’s philosophy is…