I’m not sure why, but my entire family has been missing Reilly very hard this week. Yesterday, I dusted his commemorative dog bowl. His collar had dust on it and when I grabbed the leather lotion and a cloth… I just started crying. When my son came home, he said to me, without me having mentioned a word to him about my feelings, “Mom, I really miss Reilly today for some reason. I’ve been missing him all week.” My husband voiced similar feelings while cooking dinner and fending Mugen off of his pant leg. At one point, he bent down and put an arm around Mugen and said, “I’m used to there being a dog under foot, but you’re supposed to stay on the ground and sniff at the edge of the counter and then sit and wag your tail at me… and then I’m supposed to give you a piece of chicken when Mom’s not looking.”

The look on my husband’s face as he said this was a mix of joy and sadness.… [Read More]

The Morning Freak Out

The son is 16…. almost 17. He’s getting his driver’s license as soon as he passes the test. He only failed it by two points last week, he actually did really well and the examiner told him that most kids fail it the first time because they get nervous, but the second time is a cakewalk.

He got his first job. He’s finishing up his junior year in high school with decent enough grades and a plan for college. He’s got a girlfriend that I actually approve of.

She invited him to prom.

WTH?

Prom. My baby… my little boy who I carried in one arm, with a jansport backpack with his diapers and bottles in it slung over the other… my little boy who was the talk of the town in his baby grunge jeans and flannel shirts. Who used to sleep on my chest when he was just born.… [Read More]

Prom.

As a parent, I have tried very hard to make sure that I do not buy my kids clothes that I will be embarrassed about later. Still, somehow, things manage to find their way into their closets that makes me stop in my tracks in the midst of my morning routine, stare at them, and say “Oh no… you are NOT wearing that!”

At least three times a week, I say this to my daughter, who comes out of her bedroom wearing some tank top or otherwise sleeveless contraption that she wore in the 6th grade. Since she will be starting high school this year, those 6th grade tops really do not work for me and I keep trying to find them as they come down the chute and dispose of them, but somehow they keep passing me by. This morning was a shocker though. I never have to have this lecture with my son, but today he changed all of that.… [Read More]

The Teenage Song of Despair

Most mornings, my husband gets my daughter out the door for school and I sleep in a bit until its time to wake up my son and do home school with him. This morning, there was a knock at my bedroom door at the ungodly hour of 7:35. I looked at the clock and said, “What is it?”

I heard this small, scared voice that I don’t normally hear from my teenagers anymore say, “Mom, can you give me a ride to school?”

I told my daughter to come in and asked her why she missed the bus and she looked pale and just terrified. She proceeded to explain that there was no one at the bus stop with her this morning and this strange dog showed up and tried to attack her so she ran home with her cello in one hand, back pack in the other and then when the dog was gone, she went go head back out to the bus and she saw the bus go by just as she picked up her cello again.… [Read More]

Libra Girl and the… Bear?