My lovely sister just hooked us up with tickets to a Mumford & Sons show in November. Huzzah! My husband is a shift worker so we’re not actually sure if he’ll be able to make it. Sounds like a job for Facebook, I hear you say! Yes, indeed. So I’ve recruited a back-up friend in […]
The numbers are clear. If you know a few parents, you know someone who’s had postnatal depression, whether they blogged about it or not. In response to my posts about my experiences, here and here, I’ve discovered half a dozen of my friends have been through it recently, and another few a long time […]
I first encountered Carlos Gonzalez in this Guardian interview, and thought, what a lovely man! I bought his second book, Kiss Me!: How to Raise Your Children With Love, and gobbled it in a couple of days. He had me at ‘hello’ with this on the second page: The stance of a book or of […]
It’s hard to be a lawyer or used-car dealer, but harder to be a mother-in-law. All three are reviled in pop culture, but at least the first two choose their roles and get paid for them. There are endless shelves of books on parenting and marriage, but precious few on how to build a good […]
Which one makes you cry? I saw this slightly mushy video a year ago, when I was pregnant, and was in floods of tears (possibly hormonal). It has mothers holding cards giving advice to their younger selves. I’m planning a blog series based on one of these cards. Before I start it, I’d be interested […]
Today is Kent’s birthday and I miss him. Here are some words I spoke at his funeral in January, after he died far too young. If we could all be a bit more like Kent from today onwards, the world would be much improved. I’d like to invite you to look at a picture of […]
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose. Listen! I will be honest with you, I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes, These are the days that must happen to you: You […]
My very favourite Walter has just had heart surgery, in the first week of his life on the outside. In his honour, while he gets strong in the hospital, here are my next favourite Walters, in no particular order. Well, except this one. Walt Whitman, what a guy! ‘O Captain, my Captain!’ ‘Camerado, give me […]
This is the second post in a series on my experience of postnatal depression. The first is here. I was quietly terrified about childbirth. So unknown! So dangerous! But I was very lucky. Despite a slightly rocky late pregnancy, I had a pretty positive labour and birth experience, and then a very happy […]
SBJ is nine months old. It’s the best age! The first thing he does when he wakes up in bed with us is smile at us. Then start climbing the headboard to try and reach the forbidden wall sockets. Then properly open his eyes. When we say ‘Come into the bathroom!’ he’s so excited about […]