Here’s a cute activity to get kids talking about stories they’ve enjoyed recently. Recently, some second graders and I read Quiet! There’s a Canary in the Library! by Don Freeman (you might know the lovely Corduroy stories?). It’s about a little girl named Cary who spends some time in the library daydreaming about what would happen if she were the librarian. She dreams… View Post

“Is Harper….sensitive?” This question came from a well-meaning, good person, who I know meant no harm, but I also know from the way she said “sensitive” – a slight grimace to the face, a shrug of the shoulder, a twist of the body towards mine, like a nudge, nudge, you-know-what-I’m-talkin’-’bout-Willis- that this trait is thought of as negative. Sensitive folk… View Post

At the grocery store, Harper and I are standing in line at the self-checkout lane, behind a woman buying 25 loaves of Sara Lee whole wheat bread. Harper and I read the story headlines on the magazines and look at pictures on the covers while we wait. Brad Pitt has a swollen red eye; he’s so far away from the… View Post

My favorite day this year with Hadley went like this: She had an evening swim practice at the same time Harper had her last baseball game. I went to the swim practice, and Jesse went to the baseball game. We would meet up later at Dairy Queen to celebrate Harper’s teams’ season with ice-cream cones and Blizzards. Hadley ran ahead… View Post

It’s dark at 7am these mornings, and it’ll only grow darker. Soon, I won’t drive right towards the sun because the sun won’t be up; I’ll probably get to work faster because its light won’t be in my way. I am sitting at the kitchen when Jesse comes in and says, “Smells good in here,” and walks towards me to… View Post