Friday, May 11, 2012
Curious children Giving George a run for his monkey
Ever since Muffin was about a year and a half old, her favorite word has been "why." She wants to know why things are the way they are. This desire to know extends to almost everything in her universe. Questions she has asked include, "Why does rain fall?" (prompting a brief explanation of the water cycle from Michael); "Why does Mommy have to go to work?" (prompting a short explanation of what parents do during the day); and "Why is it breakfast time?" (prompting a terse response regarding scheduling and having to get to playgroup on time). Squeaker, on the other hand, wants to know how things work. She intently watches everything I do, whether it is folding laundry, hammering nails, or making dinner. She wants to know how her clothing …
Friday, February 17, 2012
Intrepid Explorers and Midnight Excursions.
As Muffin and Squeaker have gotten older, Michael and I have reveled in the advances that they've made in language and dexterity. In general, the changes the girls have undergone have made our lives easier. For example, it is simpler to help resolve a tantrum when Squeaker can tell us what is causing her to be upset. But every now and then, these advances make our lives more complicated. Last Thursday, Michael and I put the girls into their cribs around their usual 7:00 time, and they complained (as they often do) that we limited the number of books we read to them to about ten. Squeaker in particular wanted us to read more books; she loves books and regularly wants 25-30 books in her bed at night. But it was late, and the girls need their…
Friday, July 22, 2011
The anguish of missing special moments
Muffin and Squeaker turned two years old this week. Their birthday observance included a party for them last week attended by lots of family and friends, many unexpected presents that they are already starting to enjoy, and special treats on their birthday itself. (Plus a doctor’s appointment.) All the celebration got me thinking about how much our family has been through over the past two years and how much I worry that we’ve already lost some of these cherished moments. Anyone who has read my fiction knows that one of the themes I continue to explore is memory. I’m obsessed with the way the present remembers the past and how the future will remember the present. I’ve placed historical family archives in storage under lock and key, and I …
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Getting out the vote during dinner and bedtime
In 2001, Michael was elected to his first political office in Brookline, filling the Town Meeting seat vacated by Representative Frank Smizik upon his election to the State House. At the time, we were living on Fuller St., in Precinct 9, and we didn't yet have Muffin and Squeaker. Michael attended meetings that sometimes started early in the evening, and during the weeks of Town Meeting he was frequently out past 11 PM. Seven years later, we moved from Fuller St. to Garrison Rd., which politically meant a new precinct and a new constituency. Again Michael got elected to Town Meeting and again he had meetings. But now things were different – I was nine weeks pregnant with Muffin and Squeaker when we moved, and by the time May elections came…
Friday, April 15, 2011
Incorporating Passover tradition without screwing up bedtime
Next Monday night, Michael and I will start observing Passover with our family and friends. As part of that observance, we will be having a seder, the ritual meal and telling of the story, in our home on the first two nights of the holiday. Many of the elements of the seder, such as the songs we sing and the symbols we place on the table, are included to entice and interest the children at the table. In fact, the centerpiece of the introduction to the story of the Exodus from Egypt are the Four Questions traditionally asked by the youngest at the table. The Four Questions are actually introduced with another question, usually translated as "Why is this night different from all other nights?" With Passover coming after the beginning of …
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Adrienne Kerman
10:29 am on Thursday, July 28, 2011
I have twins and also want to sufficiently capture their individual identities and achievements for them to cherish in the future. We take lots of photos, which, once or twice a year, I put into a shutterfly book. There is plenty of room for text so I don't just write captions, I write anecdotes, stories, and quotes to conicide with the pictures. I get very descriptive and try to include the … more ›