Natural Born Mothers

Lately I’ve been sensitive to this sort of back-handed compliment, “Wow, four kids. I’m sure I could never do it, it would make me crazy. You must just be a sort of natural at it.” It’s not just the assumption of what four kids is like — I think that as we are reaching certain hallmarks of self-sufficiency — all of them able to eat by themselves and out of diapers, getting closer to the fourth being able to dress himself (and brothers able to help him through the tough spots), two of them able to do their own laundry, prepare lunchboxes, read out loud to the younger ones — and their all getting along pretty well most of the time, well able to entertain one another, this is the least work I’ve had to do since...

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Posted by Mara Collins on Sep 15, 2007 | 1 comment

For all the Teachers I love…

So I made reference to Taylor Mali, but was lazy with the link, but really, I want all of the teachers I adore to get to see this. 

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Posted by Mara Collins on Sep 15, 2007 | 0 comments

Desensitized

Dear internet,I’m searching for the word for how when you walk into a room and there’s a bad smell and then a few minutes later you don’t smell it any more. For how you become acclimated to certain sensations so they no longer register in your consciousness. Because I am worried about the emotional equivalent to that. Happiness shouldn’t be so transient, right? And for grief to gradually wane seems like a betrayal.

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Posted by Mara Collins on Sep 14, 2007 | 0 comments

The Good Enough Education

This first week of kindergarten has been exhausting, the long day leaves Søren just ragged, I drive him home and he gets irrational and sob-y over things that wouldn’t normally throw his little extroverted self for a loop, like not being able to sit next to his only friend in the class — in the world! — at the lunch table. I suspect that it’s exhaustion, that the long days and the overwhelming new schedule, this huge place and the inability to guess what’s going to happen next, thehundreds of faces he’s never seen before, the teacher he doesn’t yet have a relationship or trust with — they’re all just getting to him. That it will get easier, soon. I mean I know that, but of course I second-guess myself because...

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Posted by Mara Collins on Sep 13, 2007 | 4 comments

Quote of the Day

“…because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply ‘question authority,’ you’ve got to speak with it, too.” – Taylor Mali, my new YouTube fascination, and the best distraction from the heat, the exhausted and whiny kids and their incomprehensible homework, the kitchen I’ve got to clean so I can make dinner so I can clean it again, and my frustration with a day that started out with such promise!

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Posted by Mara Collins on Sep 11, 2007 | 0 comments