Summer is over for nephews K. and D. <sad trombone> Summer 2016 was ‘all-baseball all the time’ as both boys are on travel teams. Practices started way back in March. For months, if they weren’t at a game, they were at practice. I don’t know how my sister does it with them on separate teams …
family
Adventures in Babysitting: Echo of Summer
Nephews K. & D. are growing bigger every day. Spending a day with them now, at ages 8 ½ and 10 ½, is more like having play buddies than babysitting. Outdoor activities are usually good choices when it comes to boys who never seem to stop moving, and this past Columbus Day the weather was …
Adventures in Babysitting: Wordplay, Tom Brady, and How I Learned to Love Sloppy Joes
I love my nephews K & D. I really do. This is a mantra I say to myself sometimes when I’m standing in the middle of my sister’s kitchen, seemingly surrounded by four times as many kids as are actually there, and wondering…What did I get myself into? K & D are growing boys. Meaning, …
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Adventures in Babysitting: An Ode
We are coming to your house – We are staying overnight! Columbus Day adventure: Two boys, The Aunt – it will be an Autumn delight! We are here, we are well-rested, Let us “help” The Uncle run the hot grill! We will watch Harry Potter here, While you watch the zombie premiere there – Can …
Father knows best…
As I wrote about lessons from Mom on Mother’s Day, it’s only obvious that I should share the same wisdom from Dad on Father’s Day. Practical advice or true wisdom? You might have rolled your eyes the first hundred times you heard some of these, but now you find yourself saying the same things to …
Adventures in Babysitting: “24”
First, we survived. Second, it took twice as much time to recover as the length of time that we had nephews K. & D. overnight. The boys arrived at noon last Sunday, carrying in a suitcase, backpacks, and a giant tote bag of assorted child-necessary items. I feared that there might have been a miscommunication …
Adventures in Babysitting: Standby, this is not a test
Today, a new frontier. I’ve done all day babysitting, evenings, after-school bus duty for a season, special days out… but this is uncharted territory. Nephews K. & D. are coming to stay overnight. My sister and her husband are off to a wedding, and a kid-free hotel stay. The boys were delivered at high noon …
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Mother, may I…
Moms give us life, and they also teach us how to live. There’s the heartfelt stuff, and the truly gushing moments at graduations, weddings and births. But the real lessons? These are in the mundane day-to-day admonishments, chore assignments, scoldings, and one-liners – all the stuff you hear in your first 18 years of life. …