Sarah and I were talking yesterday about how lucky we are. There are so many reasons, of course, but our conversation centered around family. Our own childhoods, with engaged, educated, interesting, fun parents who each respected their children and encouraged us all to excel, to take risks, to grow. OK, we didn’t use those words during our chat, but that’s what it comes down to, isn’t it? Having good parents means so very much. Now that we’re both in the thick of it, trying oh so hard to be good parents ourselves, we call upon our own childhood experiences more [...]
Read More in Dad, GG, history aka before kids, Jen Writes, siblings, sisters, special occasions, three kids, three kids (six kids), writingJanuary 24, 2012
Memories to strive for
December 3, 2010
Caption contest winner revealed!
Remember this? Anyway, there were 16 responses to our Caption Contest, and they were all great. Thanks to all of you who played along. Fourteen entries came through the comments. And two came via e-mail—a brave short story written by a blog friend and a touching tribute to, ahem, me, written by my college-days friend Rachel. But, because we called it a contest (and because we said we would), we selected one grand winner and 15 runner ups. So. After much deliberating, we decided to go with Bina’s: Internal thought: “Ok. If I stand like thiiiis and smile pretty, maybe [...]
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, siblings, sisters, three kidsJune 14, 2010
All-purpose apology note from my 6-year-old
“I am sorry for that” I received this note on Sunday afternoon, amidst the fallout of a meltdown by my 6-year-old son. He’s written notes of apology before, and in the past he has been a bit more specific in describing why he is “sare.” Whether he anticipates using this note again or he just ran out of room on the piece of paper to go into detail, I’m not sure. But the fact that he writes me notes makes my heart swell a bit, even while I am trying to get under control my own emotional reaction to his [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, motherhood, oldest child, three kids, writingI’m cackling over here. I know, I know, it’s my family, so it’s a whole lot funnier to me (and Jen and Geege, I hope). But really? Let’s take a peek at some details. Like Jen’s vivacious skirt, worn with thick tights and sneakers. And how about GG? Those glasses are funkalicious. She’s one hot tamale. And those sandals? I think she wore that style for about 12 years–going through a few pairs until she finally moved on to…hmm. Mom? What did you move on to after those leather criss-cross thongy things? I’m just little and cute, so we can [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsApril 17, 2010
17 Years Ago
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, three kids
April 12, 2010
Happy Birthday, Shaggy! Shall We Plan a Camping Trip?
P.S. Geez, was I a TOTALLY lousy big sister? Not letting you in the tent? Geez. P.P.S. Or, wait, no. I remember. You were a pesky little sister, right? P.P.P.S. Good thing none of it matters now.
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, sisters, three kidsFebruary 1, 2010
Now’s Your Chance to Love it Up
My discovery of a treasure trove of correspondence, much between me and Sarah (tidbits here and here), led one of our most supportive readers to suggest that we all could write more love letters. And, Amber, you are right. I’ve been thinking about your comment for just about three months now. Add to that the fact that things seem a little lonely—boring, even—around these parts lately. So Sarah and I thought it was time for another challenge, of sorts. And with Valentine’s Day just two weeks away, we decided this is the perfect time. Our latest endeavor is Love it [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, three kidsJanuary 26, 2010
Lip Service
As a mother with three young children who look to me and their father for guidance on everything from getting dressed to knowing when it is safe to cross the street, I think about the lessons I’m imparting. I think about the details of our days. I think about the times I yell at them and shouldn’t have. Or how I could have answered a difficult question differently. I think about how much little stuff goes into creating memorable lives for them. I want to create memories for my children. As parents, Sweetie and I have started traditions—of going to [...]
Read More in Dad, history aka before kids, home, Jen Writes, motherhood, three kidsJanuary 13, 2010
Remember Gremlins?
I wasn’t going to write anything at all with this. However, I feel it is vital to point out that Tammy was Sarah’s beloved Cabbage Patch doll. As far as I know, all other references are to actual people. (But don’t ask me about the Nerds in hearts.)
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, sisters, three kidsDecember 4, 2009
Voila: C’est une gerbil triste
Here it is. The sad gerbil. Heartbreaking, isn’t it. The frown. Did the gerbil miss me while I was away at camp? Is the gerbil just a fill-in for Sarah? Did she miss me? I love this piece of notebook paper, so lovingly crafted into mixed-media artwork. The letters in bold marker and the attention-to-detail strokes of the crayon-colored gerbil fur. I love thinking about the time Sarah took to create this masterpiece. She was likely just 6 years old, as the rest of my gerbil-mentioning camp letters were from 1984. And here we are, 25 years later. And my [...]
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, three kids