Parenting

When we get older being entertained is hard. We have to spend hundreds of dollars on subscriptions and apps to drown out the noise around us. But when you are six or eight, it is not such a challenge. A round piece of metal can magically transform into a spinning wheel that takes you across planets. Whoosh! Swish! It becomes a weapon as you fight an imposing dragon. Blankets become moats and pillows become forts. Stuffies can be pets, friends, even a ball to throw and catch. But Tag – what can one say about… Read More »Tag!

On our way to a family hike, we decided to change course and spend time at my sons’ school instead. It had been so long! Hikes could wait. The Ginko trees near the parking lot were gleaming gold. They shimmered in the morning light inviting us in. We stepped on the yellow carpet of leaves shed –  soft, wet with dew. We bunched them into our hands, gathering more and more and then ‘TOSS’ – into the air they flew. The leaves rained down on us, gently grazing our cheeks, floating down. My sons giggled,… Read More »Waiting for School

Isn’t that what art is all about? The ability to express. To think of something funny and share that with the world; with words or scribbles, song or strokes. To be able to take sorrow or pain inside you and use it as ink. To be able to hold that effervescent excitement bubbling inside you and turn it into something lasting. Art is beautiful, refreshing, liberating. Art is essential.

This season’s isolation has proven to the most introvert of us how much we need each other’s company. Coupled with the bad air quality in some places of the country, keeping spirits up is not an easy job. But humans adapt, especially kids. So what if you are stuck indoors again robbed of another day in the sun? So what if you are stuck with your family, just the four of you, again? When the sky turns pink and then grey; when the orbs of light on the street turn-on; when shadows come to play… Read More »REMEMBER TO DANCE

This morning my six-year-old logged in early to his class. It was their pre-class chat time. The time where pre COVID, kids would have stood in line outside class and bonded with each other. The kids have adapted to this virtual link-up time. They logged in one by one sharing little updates. One wanted to share where they were eating dinner, another wanted to show a pumpkin, a hat, a song, a greeting…the volume began to rise. Until noone could understand what anyone was saying. Then, above the cackling, a little girl spoke, “When we… Read More »IT’S LIKE AAAAHH!

The air quality in my neighborhood was recently affected by the wildfires. For days, there were no blue skies; a pall of smoke hung stubbornly in the air. One morning I looked out and wondered how we came to this. I thought about viruses, fires, heatwaves, and summer snowstorms. I thought of our current politics, the extreme polarization of our views that paralyzes us into petty arguments and lofty discussions, but no action. And most of all I felt the longing build inside me. The longing to be able to walk, see the mountains, feel… Read More »Saving Pando