December, 2014 | PulseonParenting

Farewell, My Friend

Dec 22 2014

Last week I travelled back to Iowa to celebrate the life of a childhood friend. She was kind and vivacious. A daughter, a mother of four. Why she was taken so soon from the many who loved and needed her, no one will understand. All I know is the acute pain of bidding farewell to someone I’ve known for decades, and my age as well. When I learned she was gone, I had been standing impatiently in a restaurant awaiting my overdue takeout order, making a mental inventory of everything I needed to do that night, the next day,…

Please Pass the Funny Stuff

Dec 09 2014

As with turkey and cranberries and Christmas cookies, I wanted seconds after finishing Jim Gaffigan’s hilarious take on parenting in his book Dad is Fat. So for another humor fix I turned to Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?. In her autobiographical turn, I learned Mindy Kaling and I have several things in common. Both of us were awkward, bookish kids who never got invited to keggers. And we also agree that Will Ferrell is the funniest guy ever. But somehow, despite our similarities, she was the one who became a successful comedy writer. Huh. Probably because back in college…

Thanks to You

Dec 02 2014

Before dinner each night, our family goes around the table and shares “gratitudes.” Mostly, my kids are grateful for legos and pasta and our dog (translation: grateful to have toys and a pet to play with, and food on the table). Occasionally they are thankful for each other. This exercise has been a great way for them (and my husband and myself as well) to remember the little daily wonderments of our existence. But nothing helps us reflect upon life’s big picture than that fantastically chill holiday, Thanksgiving. I realize this is belated but in the spirit of family time last…

Archive - December 2014