If you're a parent of children who are old enough to communicate, chances are you've said this phrase to them more times than you can count. Falls, scrapes, scratches, bumps, bruises, bug bites... sometimes our kids complain so much that we become immune to it. It's a parenthood survival coping mechanism, I think. It doesn't … Continue reading Oh, You’re FINE
Author: gretchenmulroy
Deal With It
It's been almost one month since Groundhog Day, almost one month since the celebrity rodent did not see his shadow, supposedly portending an early spring. A conversation with Youngest Son today revealed his sentiments on the four seasons - he sees March 1st as the beginning of spring. You know what all this … Continue reading Deal With It
Ode to a Carpooling Mom
Gas pedal, brake pedal gas pedal, brake pedal indiscriminate rattling metal rattle metal No time for a mechanic Breathe in. Breathe out. No time for panic. Don't. Panic. Just keep driving driving and praying driving and saying Just Get Me There. Up the driveway down the driveway maybe the highway maybe the service way Pick … Continue reading Ode to a Carpooling Mom
Photo Fail: The Story Behind the Picture
I'd like to share with you what is, undoubtedly, one of my most epic photo fails of all time. In fact, I actually dare you to beat me on this one. June 2nd: Graduation Day for our first born and our nephew. I'm emotional and excited, she's emotional and excited. I have a houseful of … Continue reading Photo Fail: The Story Behind the Picture
Shame on Me
Last year for Christmas, my husband got me an Apple Watch. I hadn't asked for one, unlike a lot of people, but bless his heart, he was pretty sure I'd love this little piece of new technology. I have a well-established love/hate relationship with technology. I love how it can make many aspects of life … Continue reading Shame on Me
Seventh Grade Science
This is the story of a teaching job: searching, finding, and finally accepting. It is a story of adjusting, adapting, experimenting, spending, crying, and some regretting. There was a resignation and a change. There was also a lot of growing and a fair amount of laughter in this one remarkable year. Once upon a time, … Continue reading Seventh Grade Science
The House on Colonial Heights
There is a house on Colonial Heights with a postage-stamp-sized front yard. The hedges that lined the sidewalk, the garden in the corner with its portulacas and hens and chicks, and the shade from the trees with the low-hanging branches seemed to create their own little oasis, in my eight year old mind. The closed-in … Continue reading The House on Colonial Heights
Mid-Life Lessons at 45
Yes, that is my age; for anyone whom I did not go to school with, just in case you were wildly curious, but were afraid to ask. I'm not about to claim any ground-breaking revelations here, and I'm not operating under the delusion that everyone will agree with me. But as I no longer consider … Continue reading Mid-Life Lessons at 45
There Is…
There is a song that plays on the radio, "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson, as we begin a long drive home. There are tears that I'm trying to keep, unsuccessfully, from leaking out of my eyes. There is a scratchy Dunkin Donuts napkin I use to wipe them away. There are memories tied to this … Continue reading There Is…
If You Give a Mom a Cookie
If you give a Mom a cookie, she'll probably stand at the counter to eat it, with her back to her children so they don't see her eating a cookie right before dinner time. As she stands at the counter, she'll see a pile of crumbs. She'll sweep them into her hand and … Continue reading If You Give a Mom a Cookie
