real, raw motherhood
I just finished listening to Wuthering Heights, having read it only once before, in French, when I was no more than 17 years old. I remembered it as one of my favorite novels but had no recollection whatsoever of the story or its characters. It was with great curiosity that I returned to the Heights…
I pushed for four and half hours before I could hold her in my arms and yet my labor didn’t stop then. The real work had only begun. Mothering is hard work. Daily work. Patient work. Challenging work. Rewarding work. A child and a mother were born on the same day in that hospital room…
We just finished listening to the audiobook version of Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter. I was familiar with the name but knew nothing of the story. This title wasn’t even on our reading list but my daughter stumbled upon it in our Kindle app and, out of curiosity, pressed the start button. She came to…
Before we left for our 9-week trip back in May, I had made a deal with our daughter: when she finished the three workbooks I was bringing along, she would be promoted to 2nd grade. I calculated that she needed to complete only three pages a day to make it happen. Since we were traveling…
One of my favorite perks as a mother is that I get to discover picture books alongside my daughter. There are so many wonderful publications, a real treasure trove of humor, wits and inspiration that I had missed out on until I became a parent. The latest picture book to have made an impact on…
As the weekend approaches and I look back on the past week, it’s easy to see where I fell short. This week, there wasn’t any exercise. There wasn’t any grappling. There was chocolate, wine, one lemon bar and shortbread cookies. There wasn’t any meditative quiet time. There were no morning pages written. There was a…
Charlotte’s web by E.B White is the first chapter book I read to my daughter last year. A first for both of us. Since I didn’t grow up in America, I have not read the American classics and oh my, it has been delightful to discover them. Charlotte’s web is, in my book (pun intended),…