Sweet Kids. The Airplane Edition.
Before we board, the mother in the pink Adidas t-shirt leaves her two daughters with her husband as she storms away to take a call, announcing to the gate area, … Continue reading
Possibility
My new niece is two weeks old. This brings my total to two nieces. Naturally, I know that Addy, Savannah, and I will certainly be traveling like mad–once they can … Continue reading
One Giant Leap for Ein Kleines Kind
The plastic bag is in the top of the tree. Three stories up. This distance means little to the two foot child under the tree, leaping with his hands up, … Continue reading
Cheer up, Buttercup.
A little girl with curly blonde hair perches in her stroller with a scowl. Her mother navigates toward their departure gate, and the girl’s lips are twisted, her brow gathered, … Continue reading
Wave To Mama
A mother shuffles away from the school bus stop after her daughter has boarded. She moves like it is exceptionally early in the morning, though the sun is up and … Continue reading
Love Grows Here
My mother’s flower gardens in the fall. Her father was a farmer and often raised fields of flowers for seeds. She grows flowers to give (I frequently see her cutting … Continue reading
Baby’s First Swim
The mother slowly hands her infant to his father, who waits in the shallow end of the hotel swimming pool. The baby wears a diaper and a cloth head wrap … Continue reading
The Ideal
The young mother held her daughter’s hand as the tiny girl leapt off the curb, hustled ahead, then slowed down–her mother’s arm was a satisfactory tether. The open-air shopping center … Continue reading
They Were Too Shiny Anyway
Outside Target, mothers previewed for their toddlers and pre-schoolers the agenda for the shopping trip. The children who were old enough replied, asked questions, such as: “But where are we … Continue reading
Take Care
The bus trip from Vienna to Trogir, Croatia takes twelve hours and rolls overnight. As the monster idles–half the passengers taking final drags on cigarettes and patting at their relatives–a … Continue reading
The Lost Tourist as Herself
Mothers walking with daughters needed time to assess whether to engage strangers, especially strangers who smiled too much and managed to turn up lost just past the auto repair shops … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 