Ended the year with a three hour breakfast date with the friend I’ve known the longest. Couldn’t stop talking even after we paid the check and walked to our cars. I did not ever want our long leisurely coffee talk to end and I think that’s exactly what I need more of in 2019. So that’s resolution #1 - more time with the people that matter most. Resolution #2? Hygge. This is the Danish mindset of extreme contentment and I am HERE FOR IT. I have some shows I want to watch and some books I want to read and some walks I want to take and some stews I want to simmer and I’m all about the season of hibernation. No jigsaw puzzle is safe. Hot chocolate stocked and recipes saved. Commence all the snug

We went to Longwood Friday night - and it was lovely. We arrived for our 4:30 tickets as darkness was descending; fog blanketed the landscape and it was an ethereal, magical night - almost spooky. You couldn’t see the outline of the trees until you were right up on them. From far away, it looked like every branch was wrapped in lights. But when you got up close, you could see the true outline of the trees - branches going this way and that, spreading past the brightly lit part and reaching branches out into the darkness. UMMMM, IS THAT A METAPHOR FOR PARENTING OR WHAT??? We’ve spent all month opening beautiful cards from friends, their family happily snuggling in an open field, walking along

Some of the kids in my house don’t believe in Santa; one does. I keep telling them that it’s a mystery, for sure, but that moms know the truth - there absolutely is a Santa Claus. However, I haven’t told them the full story: that the real S.C. couldn’t be more different than a bearded man flying in a sleigh. Here’s how to spot the key differences between the mythical SC and the real one: TRANSPORTATION: Santa reportedly rides a sleigh around the world, pulled by a team of weightless reindeer that fly through the sky as he delivers gifts. The real Santa drives a minivan or other sensible vehicle, and flies through yellow lights (but always stops for school busses) as she delivers gifts as wel

The kids are counting down the days - and so am I. They can’t wait to open presents on Christmas morning (and give gifts, too, which really does warm my cold dead heart), and I can’t wait until the holiday weekend starts … because when we pick the kids up from school on Friday the 21st, the fun begins and the work of the season - the decorating, the cards, the errands, the shopping, the elf, the gifts, the wrapping, the baking, the school holiday show, the all of it, on top of all the stuff you usually do but with that added holiday flavor of doing it all when it’s pitch-black and freezing outside - officially ends. Right now, as I type this, I have six shopping bags sitting next to the chai

One of the hardest parts about being a parent is seeing your child in pain. When your child is sick or hurt, you’ll stop at nothing to help them feel better. But only if you understand that something is wrong and if you understand where to go for help. Years ago, my older son played high school basketball. One night at a game, he fell and tore his ACL. Everyone in the stands could see what happened to his knee, and there was no question what we would do next. I was determined to find my son the best possible care so he’d recover completely. He wanted that, too. From the first MRI, to his surgery, to the last physical therapy session, we both felt informed, supported, and confident about his

Me: I am so glad it’s winter time so I don’t have to drive all over God’s green earth every afternoon taking you to all your fall activities. Also Me: If you kids don’t stop fighting I’m going to sign up for as many extra-curriculars as possible so you are never home and I don’t have to hear it. Anyone else? Of course this is partially my own fault: after some undesirable behavior, we have moved to lockdown mode on device usage. I have appointed myself the Tech Sheriff and I’m levying fines and consequences left and right. No technology - not even TV - until after dinner, after homework, after kitchen is cleaned up, and loss of technology is the FIRST consequence every time, and there is a z