Life is very hectic right now. I frequently feel that I’m at my limit. Outside this, there are moments of sheer delight. Sitting at the kitchen table last night, doing some reading for work. Baby sitting beside me with a newspaper, “write, write, write” and rearranging pens in rows and rows. Lying in bed half …
This weekend baby wanted to go to “boopthtoh” (bookstore) to buy some “boopth.” How could I say no? We started with the Rutland Auxiliary Thrift “Bookstore” and sat in the back for about half an hour, reading books. The next day we went to the Value Village “Bookstore” – and let me tell you, she …
Well, wouldn’t you know it. No sooner do I declare my plan for enhancing interview performance than an opportunity appears. I had a phone message from the local TV station asking if they could interview me for a piece on the posters. After checking again with my supervisor (very supportive) I said yes. However, unlike …
I’m enjoying the book Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. In sum: talent does not exist. People excel through “deliberate practice”: hard, focused work on key skills that stretch their growth, repeated with feedback for a lot of hours; followed by similar work on the next set of skills to extend their growth. It is …
Baby seems to be picking up on the big transition we’re going through with our move. She’s had some ridiculously late nights. She really, really doesn’t want to leave the house most weekends. And she wants her parents around more than we’re able to do. She woke up the other night with a repeated cry …
Yesterday was a lesson in digging below my irritation at baby’s choices to understand what might be going on in her world. It was a chance to put aside my own need for control and be a parent who meets her child’s needs. Yesterday, baby did not want to leave the house. At all. I …
In pursuit of a parenting and educational direction for our girl, I’ve just started reading “The Child in the Family” by Maria Montessori. I am the most engrossed I’ve been in years by a technical non-fiction book. Her ideas feel respectful and wise. Here’s one, regarding how we tend to interpret as misbehaviour childhood actions …
I’m all about the paradigms. I like to have a model, masterplan or general theory to guide pretty much anything I do. So when it comes to parenting, I’ve been both amazed at how untheoretical (i.e., random) I am in my approach, and also eager to apply something that I can believe in (i.e., attachment …
Leaving the house the other morning I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time: a slight coolness in the air. The very first sign of fall. Though the day warmed up to the mid-30s, the morning temperature gave away the approaching change of seasons. I have mixed feelings about fall this year. To …
Driving home tonight from a visit to my brother-in-law and kids who are camping for the weekend. A fun evening with swimming in the lake! Baby’s happy in the back seat, talking about what we’re doing. “Go to town. In town.” Yes, we’re going into town! “Go to town in bed.” That’s right! We’ll go …