The older my kids get, the more I find I really appreciate annual events. These annual markers — holidays, special events — are always the moments when I really see time passing. Otherwise it’s easy for the days to just run together, into a mush of homework, sandwich crusts, and the odd pajama day here
Merry Christmas from Anna and Long Cat! We had such an awesome Christmas, and if this blog is serving as my memory book, that is what I want to remember. Christmas was awesome. Just look at how great it was! David got a balaclava! (He also does a thing that he got from Tom — he
Happy Thanksgiving! For our family this year was a year of travel over the mountains and through the woods for Thanksgiving in Franklin County. My hometown is so, so beautiful — something I never appreciated or even noticed when I was growing up. Now, when we drive home I can’t help but take photos out
About two weeks ago Anna turned six, but we were all too exhausted to even sing a proper rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Tom was busy running a 2:55 marathon, and I was exhausted because I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get him to the start line. TWO HOURS AND FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES! You
This fall David joined his middle school’s cross country team. The second he joined the team, before he even brought home his school-issued singlet, I fell head-first into the murky waters of living vicariously through my kid’s sport. Until now I’ve been completely immune to this. As a person who can barely throw — and
This morning, in between bites of her first-day-of-school waffle, Mary looked up and said, “If I were you I’d be really sad this morning.” No one knows me like Mary. This school year marks so many milestones for our family, and the lump in my throat has been ready to rise to the surface for
By: Mary Last summer our cousins who live in Vancouver, Canada came to visit us in Virginia! Ellie, Abram, John, and Gabby came without their parents. Their visit was delayed by a few weeks due to a COVID outbreak, and then our trip to Kings Dominion got almost got rained out, and then there was
On a beautiful May morning, Anna skipped across the parking lot, hugged her teacher, grabbed a bubble wand and celebratory balloon and ran down an aisle to hug me. Just like that, she graduated preschool. Later that evening Tom gave Anna a high-five and told her, “For a while there we weren’t sure you were
Anna’s preschool ended in May, just a few weeks before the big kids got out of school. In that in-between time, Anna and I spent a lot of quality time together. We are used to spending a lot of time together, but a few hours of preschool three days a week gave us the exact break we
Just as school is winding down, swim season is ramping up. The swim team is exhausting and all-consuming, but I honestly love it. Three years ago I submitted to the rigorous swim team schedule, and after one season we were a bonafide swim family. I love the social aspect for the kids AND for me,