Gretchen

August 8, 2010

  • Honoring their instincts

    By Gretchen
    "Mom?' my child said in a small voice, 'I don't think you should eat the pie."
    I was caught by surprise and asked why. (…)

December 27, 2009

  • We had mice on Christmas

    By Gretchen
    I heard the first stirrings downstairs around 4 am.
    My 3 oldest boys were up, pawing through the gifts placed under the tree after they went to bed. (…)

November 29, 2009

November 1, 2009

  • The Call of the Mild

    By Gretchen
    I had just told my seventh grader something slightly outrageous (to her) and disagreeable (to her). (…)

October 4, 2009

  • Mind's Eye

    By Gretchen
    I've thought about him all morning, dressed like a Jolly Green Giant, but not jolly nor giant.
    Sam is the Frog Prince in a class play this morning. (…)

September 6, 2009

  • We See, We Saw

    By Gretchen
    "Mommy! There are numbers on that clock!" My son pointed to the clock mounted on the kitchen wall. It was the morning after he got glasses. Suddenly? He could see. (…)

August 9, 2009

  • I am potty trained and so are you

    By Gretchen
    "Don't worry. I won't pee on you," my nearly 3-year-old daughter assured me as she climbed onto my lap.
    "Thanks. I'm glad."
    Was she worried she might? (…)

June 14, 2009

March 22, 2009

February 15, 2009

  • My vanity, my child

    By Gretchen
    My five-year-old son has a very small cosmetic flaw. One of his upper center baby teeth is coffee brown. He'd prefer to call it chocolate or even dirt. (…)

November 2, 2008

  • I landed on the Bad Mom space

    By Gretchen
    My children do not know how to play Monopoly.
    I never thought of this as a mothering failure until yesterday. (…)

September 28, 2008

  • He's No Babysitter, He's Their Father

    By Gretchen
    My husband travels for work occasionally. Usually, these trips take him 2,000 miles away from home, for about a week. He attends meetings, training sessions, and social gatherings. (…)

August 24, 2008

  • Smoke Gets In Your Social-Pariah Eyes

    By Gretchen
    Smokers are an ash-flick away from serial killers.
    When friends, aquaintances, and readers find out I am an ex-smoker, they usually say things like, "But you are so nice!" Yes. (…)

July 20, 2008

  • Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

    By Gretchen
    "Mom? Mom?"
    A twelve-year-old boy gently shook his sleeping mother's shoulder.
    After twisting in the sheets and mumbling protests, she turned to look at the bedside clock. (…)