Hers and Mine by Conlee Ricketts
December 23rd, 2013
I recently confessed to a friend that for the first nine years or so of my daughter’s life I would have to take some time to go off and cry every Christmas. I cried because I felt like I didn’t provide a “magical enough” Christmas. It took me a lot ...
My Crazy Fears by Conlee Ricketts
December 16th, 2013
I have an irrational fear of bouillon cubes, chicken stock, and heavy cream. I’m not lying—this is one of my shameful truths. It’s a crippling fear. I shy away from glorious looking recipes because I see the words “bouillon cube” or “heavy cream” in the ingredients. That’s just crazy! Right? I ...
A Bad Weekend by Conlee Ricketts
December 9th, 2013
I was a math teacher more years than I’ve been a parent. At some point that will flip, but it hasn’t just yet. There are moments in parenting when I catch myself doing the exact things I know way better than to actually do, but I do them anyway. I ...
I Love June…Cleaver This Is by Conlee Ricketts
November 18th, 2013
Confessions of an older mom: I was pretty set in my self-obsessed, lazy ways before I got pregnant. Sleeping in, skipping meals, making the laundry wait until I got down to my “emergency underwear”—you know the pair—I called mine my granny pants. I laugh now because my days of sexy undies ...
Could This Life Get Any Funnier? by Melissa Swedoski
September 3rd, 2013
As you roll along this mortal coil, does it ever seem like someone is having a good laugh at your expense? You think you've got it all going on, all that and a bag of chips, and then, just to keep you humble, something ridiculous happens to remind you, "don't ...
Sorry, But I’m Running Late …..By Robin Sydney Wallace
July 21st, 2013
"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are,"--Anais Nin. As a writer and a journalist, I know the power of words, language and terminology. I know that through the language with which we choose to discuss a topic, we can define the public’s perception or feelings ...
Age Ain’t a Number, It’s Just a Perspective by Melissa Swedoski
July 16th, 2013
When I agreed to marry a man 13 years my junior, I wasn't thinking too clearly. That is to say, I was so giddy with excitement, that I didn't take my usual pros/cons approach and fashion a list of why this is a good/bad idea. Yes, I was that really ...
You Sure Waited a Long Time to Get Started by Melissa Swedoski
June 18th, 2013
It's a tricky business, this later motherhood life. On the one hand, you feel so supremely blessed to have this child(ren) who you can love, hug, snuggle, cuddle, nourish, teach, inspire, support and laugh with, when you perhaps thought you never would. But then there's the trick of time. You feel ...
I Must, I Must…Stay Strong and Fit by Dina Ramon
May 23rd, 2013
Every Saturday morning as I watch my daughter in her gymnastics class – cartwheeling and handstanding and twirling - with toes pointed and gaze focused, I recall my own fascination with gymnastics fondly but certainly recognize that my days of being that limber and light on my feet are long ...
It’s Testing Time – Now Take a Deep Breath by Dina Ramon
May 16th, 2013
School used to be so fun and low stress. Remember when the biggest concern was your child losing naptime in the transition from kindergarten to first grade? Then in second grade the homework got a little more challenging and more of it came home every afternoon; which can be both ...
