family

When Axa turned six in February, we decided she was ready for her own little pet. So for her birthday she received a fish bowl with two little goldfish. One was a chubby little white fish with bubbly red “hair.” Axa christened it “Little Redhead.” The other, pictured above, she called “Little Gold Fin.”

Fat Little Redhead was a spunky little fish. He always grabbed the lion’s share of the food. So I suppose we should not have been surprised a few weeks later, when he began swimming upside down. We looked online for what could be wrong with him, and were informed that he had eaten too much, causing his swim bladder to malfunction because of a too-full stomach.… Read more

Mother’s Day. I’m not much in the mood for it this year. It’s been a long, hard year or two. I used to be the mother who sent her daughter with her own special healthy snack each week when she went to Nursery at Church, the mother who used the #1 ranked carseats and faced her children backwards until they were three years old, the mother who refused to send her children to preschool, but instead exhaustively researched educational theory to create a perfect developmental and educational environment just for them.

No more. Fast forward past ongoing health problems, an emotional meltdown, a series of financial disasters, and several international moves, and I’m not feeling like such a great mother anymore.… Read more

I am going to be an aunt! I know I’m already a mother, so maybe this shouldn’t be so exciting to me. And I became an instant aunt back when I got married. But there is just something special about picturing my own little brother as a dad. Not to mention my adorable, sweet sister-in-law as a mother. She really made me feel like a big sister last week when she emailed me for advice about having a baby. My own “baby” turns four next month, so I enjoyed going back and reliving some memories of when he and his big sister were tiny and new.… Read more

After going out for a vaguely-defined afternoon errand, Tony came home and surprised me with this:

It was the Tunisian florist’s version of a dozen red roses. I think it turned out beautifully. And it smells divine. The funny thing is, when I last saw the vase in the morning, it did have a dozen red roses in it. The roses he bought me, oh, about three weeks ago. Needless to say, they were no longer looking quite their best. In fact, certain parts of them were in a rather advanced state of decay. I can’t help it, though. I just can’t bear to throw flowers away, even when they have gracefully faded, or turned into a malodorous mass of moldy algae.… Read more

When I was a little girl, beach combing was one of my favorite vacation activities. I always came home with my pockets full of treasures. And then my parents would make me go through them and decide which ones I really loved, and which ones I would need to jettison so that I could fit all my clothes back in my suitcase. Unfortunately, I managed to attach sentimental value to just about every single shell and piece of driftwood. Even the very large ones. On one occasion, my prize find was a rock nearly the size of my head. It must have weighed at least 25 pounds, but I dragged it all the way down the long beach and up the hill to the car.… Read more