PulseonParenting | Let's Get to the Heart of Parenting

Inauguration Day…and a Call to Action

Jan 19 2017

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.” – David Star Jordan Even the dashboard for pulseonparenting.com is feeling it: the daily inspirational quote came from Star Jordan’s timely words. Timely, in that they were posted on MLK, Jr., Day, and timely, in that Friday is Inauguration Day. Whether you look ahead to this always historic occasion with anticipation or with dread, I think about another of my favorite sayings. Be the change you want to see in the world. Many who voted for our PEOTUS did so looking for change; many who did not want…

Jan 17 2017

Sigh. Always a ski bunny and never a bum. Trust me, I don’t flatter myself with that statement. Although the bunny hill is one I can “Lindsey Vonn” (sort of) I can’t do it carrying a steaming cup of joe. I’ve really seen that happen. Nor can I “shred it” while carrying a bin of paper files (yup, seen that, too). Talk about taking the office with you. But there is something I do bring down a slope, and that thing is fear. I don’t need speed. Or bumps. I certainly don’t need “air.” But I do need the…

Jan 10 2017

Another new year…already! Did 2016 even happened? Maybe I just slept through it. No. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get that much rest… It’s that time of year we resolve to make positive changes in our lives, or better yet, to not resolve as the former seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whatever it is we have made a resolution to do or become just doesn’t come to fruition. That’s why last year I simply decided to make “the happiness project” a goal, not a big “R.” Last January I posted “The Happiness Project” where I described my goal, through daily reflection and writing,…

Jan 05 2017

“There’s no place like home.” “Who says you can’t go home?” “Home is where the heart is.” Where you once belonged. In song, on the silver screen and in narrative, home is a nostalgic subject. Home can be many things…a state of mind, the place we lay our heads every night, or who we are with. What it means to one can mean a very different thing to another. Since I left nearly 30 (30!) years ago, I have called my hometown home. As we pack our bags, it no longer confuses my children when I say we are going home to visit…

Dec 30 2016

As I do way too often, and for way too long, I troll Facebook. When I came upon this video shared by a couple of my mom friends, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s real, it’s a wicked awesome reminder, and I feel she is a kindred spirit with her snacking habits. Enjoy!

Dec 21 2016

I know people who decorate their Christmas trees with new, color-coordinated themes every year. I know people who special-order pine boughs to adorn their mantles and banisters, and then have someone come in to deck the halls for them. If that’s how they roll for Christmas, more power to them. I’m sure their homes look beautiful. The tradition in our family? It isn’t Christmas unless the vintage manger scene includes a glitter ball snowman and the Star Trek ornaments share boughs with Lenox crystal reindeer. That’s how we roll. I am a perfectionist desperately trying to adopt the mantra, “perfection is overrated.” And…

Dec 19 2016

For some, it’s time in the bathroom. For others, it’s that dream that awakens them at night. For me, it’s driving. Many times my inspiration for new posts comes while behind the wheel, a narrative forming as I go for groceries or take my kids to activities. I liken it to a meditative state. So you probably shouldn’t be on the road with my Honda Odyssey (JK). I wish I had a hands-free, voice-activated recorder so I could save the thoughts as they come, because when I sit down at my computer I can’t articulate those thoughts nearly as well. But…

Dec 15 2016

This is a Christmas Story. Not the Biblical one, not the one with the adorable, bespectacled boy who pines for a Red Ryder BB gun. Still, it’s a Christmas story, but a different one. In a town near where I grew up, a girl was given shelter. But that’s about it. She went hungry under that roof, having to beg the neighbors and her classmates for food. She stole a pair of shoes and was caught doing it. Her explanation for her actions was “Because I don’t have any.” She carried a foul, unclean odor with her. Surely she suffered…

Dec 13 2016

It’s that time of year. The time of year many of us buy the more presents than for any other occasion. Christmas is almost here. I used to worry about lopsided Christmas spending on my kids, especially the year my son wanted a lego set and his twin brother wanted a simple plastic lap desk he saw at a craft store. It didn’t take long to realize cost mattered little to my kids but value did; they were elated to receive the coveted items picked from their wish list. Once I shifted my thinking, gift-giving became more enjoyable but the…

Dec 08 2016

I just realized with all the bams I’m starting to sound like my son’s culinary idol, Emeril Lagasse. But strangely it fits, as recently I learned my pot-stirring helped cook up something rather surprising. Thank you, our pediatrician said. Thank you? She had called because that afternoon my shot-fearful son was scheduled to get not one, but two vaccines. I was confused by her words. Thank you? For the mayhem of our last visit? For my son’s terrified sprint out the medical building and my cage-rattling for how the office handled (or failed to handle) my son’s intense vaccine phobia? After…

Getting to the Heart of Parenting...

Inauguration Day…and a Call to Action

Downhill Skiing Advice: Straight from an Amateur

Getting Happy, One Small Step at a Time

Going Home, and Returning There

You Have GOT to watch this video…

Embracing Imperfection at Christmas…a Photo Journal

“I Don’t Care,” a Mother’s Loving Message to her Children

A Christmas Story

Fairness in Gift-Giving

Bam, Done: A Better Approach to Shot Phobia