I'll be there first to admit, I love me a good ol' family gathering. I love the holidays. I love all the magical chaos that comes along with it. I LOVE to entertain in my home, to host my family and friends and entertain their faces off ... I really really do.
What I loathe? All of the freaking prep that goes along with it. I mean the holidays are crazy ... crazy like my kids after their Paw Paw gave them a super sized Icee for the first time ever. Crazy as in the time I did all my Christmas shopping at midnight two days before Santa was to arrive. Crazy.
This year, I'm hosting Christmas day at my house....
When you first find out you’re pregnant, your mind immediately goes to pregnancy, labor & delivery and the first couple months (sometimes days) of the baby being home. But to me, as a society, we focus so much on our children that they are infants, we tend to forget that we are raising children who will be adults one day. So what does that look like? I think the picture of our children as adults probably varies from person to person.
I want my children to be able to think on their own about issues that are presented in society.
There is a certain level of sheltering our children that is to be expected depending on your child's age based on...
It was the early 1950s. She was young and had only been married for a few years. This Christmas ... this Christmas was something to look forward to. No one was going to be deployed overseas; there was a little extra money in the budget. Yes, this Christmas was going to be nice. This Christmas called for new ornaments and decorations on the tree.
At her next trip to the drugstore, she walked slowly down the aisle of Christmas decorations, choosing carefully what would adorn her tree and bring the Christmas spirit to their small home. She finally chose a variety of ornaments, of all different colors and shapes. These. These would look beautiful with colored lights, white lights, or...
She sat on my couch, shocked, devastated. As she began to tell her story, she pulled her feet up and sat with crossed legs, arms folded over the pillow she had drawn in to her chest. Even her body told the story. She was protecting herself.
“She knew. She knew because he did it to her,” she whispered.
Now in her 40’s and a mom herself, she had just learned that her own mother had been sexually abused as a child. The devastating blow was learning that the same man who abused her had also abused her mother when she was a child.
“How could she not protect me from him? She knew what he was! I mean, that’s a mother’s job!...
Our Son was Bullied :: Our Response
When we saw our perfectionist son's face as he waited for us in the carpool line, we could already tell that he had a bad day. He's not accustomed to getting in trouble for bad behavior and absolutely dreads our reaction, especially if it's disappointment. All of this was written on his face, and I could barely tell him "Hey, bud!" before he interrupted with a confession that he had gotten a mark that day, an indicator of not meeting expectations.
He's gotten marks before, usually for talking out of turn. In typical Type-A fashion, he's even earned them by telling on himself. If the teacher asked "Who was talking in the cafeteria?" he...
Around Baton Rouge
Oni225 :: Baton Rouge’s New Japanese Street Food Pop-Up is Worth...
Oni225 :: Baton Rouge's New Japanese Street Food Pop-Up is Worth Visiting
Oni225 came to fruition in February at the Asian Night Market when two...
