parents
The boundless love a parent has for their child is matched only by their capacity to embarrass them.
Friends New Moms Need
Becoming a mom for the first time is an uncertain but rewarding journey. As all journeys are, it’s enhanced when you have trusted friends to keep you company along the way. Here are the types of friends that supported me as I set out into motherhood, making my life a little bit easier:
By Robyn Russo8 years ago in Families
Ungrateful Parents
Parents can be so ungrateful. Parents can be a lot of things, but for this moment let's discuss us being ungrateful. I am a parent, I hang around other parents, I read parenting stuff. Now that you have my résumé, let us continue.
By Imam Qadriyyah Mabel-Dorothy8 years ago in Families
Clay Born
The Saturday farmers market in Little Italy lines six or seven blocks intersecting India Street with fruit and vegetable stalls, fresh fish and flowers, burritos and tamales, flavored salts, garlic presses and shimmering kitchen knife displays. It is a trajectory from the old world crossing into the new. It is here that I find myself wandering up and down the pedestrian road hunting supplies for tonight’s evening meal.
By Igor Goldkind8 years ago in Families
Things My Mother Told Me That Turned Out to Be True
Oh, Mommy dearest, how often did I doubt you. Not only did I think I was the smartest kid around who knew better than any adult, but back then I truly believed that everything you predicted and advised was wrong. From the boyfriend you assured me was bad news and the shoes you said would kill my feet to the bigger things in life like being a mother, a wife, and an intelligent human being, almost everything you said had some merit to it. That's right, Mom, you aren't reading this wrong, I am here to say the three words you so absolutely deserve to hear: YOU. WERE. RIGHT. Of course, many of life's lessons I had to learn on my own and I do believe that's how children should, but there are those few pieces of wisdom and experiences you lived through that you shared with such strong persuasion that I should have listened to. Here are just a few.
By Jus L'amore8 years ago in Families
My Dad Is a Sugar Daddy
You may hear many of your friends joke about their bills and say, "I just wish I had a sugar daddy to pay for all of this," but you may never think about your father being a sugar daddy. My father has always been a man who wore many hats. As a child, he was a construction worker, a bartender, an artist, a carpenter, and an all-around rock star. Many times late at night I would hear the sounds of Van Halen's eruption wailing from his closed bedroom. My mother and father had me and my brother very young, and they would often joke to people about how we "grew up together." My Mother passed when I was 19, and my father was already in his second marriage. It wasn't long after that he was quickly in his third marriage. Upon the loss of his 3rd wife, that's when the younger women started coming in by the boat-load. It's a bit strange to be 26 years old and shaking the hand of a 22-year-old who is dating your father. Should they say yes ma'am to me or vice versa? I was a bit angry and confused at the time as I was drowning in student loan debt and heard the phrase, "You're 26. These are your bills," being muttered when I asked for assistance, yet I would see the young girls being adorned with Chanel ball gowns for the fancy events that they attended here in New Orleans.
By Layla Danielle8 years ago in Families
A First Time for Everything
He was big, burly and heavy on his feet, like an iron shield guarding our family. The strongest person I know, he towers over most. Being brawly and intimidating to people who don’t know him, he has a stern frown and a soft smile, a deep farmer's tan from the hours he spends cutting wood and doing yard work but meticulously ironed grey suit pants and straight Brooks Brothers dress shirts and jackets. He has hammers and nails, saws and screwdrivers, wrenches, and hatchets, but works with people and computers. He casually coaches us from lacrosse to hockey and all in between, but methodically constructs cultured sentences presented to important people every day. He helps with seventh grade math, but works with pie charts and statistics that are puzzling to others. His presence brings safety and protection like having a military squad protecting your family.
By Clare Woodford8 years ago in Families
The Second Time Around
Leonard poured his coffee into the old, cracked mug his son had made him, slow and steady as the hot steam fogged his glasses. He could hear the pitter-patter of the rain against his kitchen window – slow and steady. He carefully lifted the warm mug to his dry, leather lips. Leonard was turning seventy in three days. Three days and he would be over the hill, or was it under the hill? He scratched his head and took another sip of coffee. Most days he loved to hear the sound of the rain bouncing off the windowpane, but not today. Today he felt angry and tired, more tired than usual. He gently lifted himself from the kitchen table and shuffled over to the phone. For a second, he thought about calling his son. Then, for another second longer, he thought about calling his doctor. He took a deep breath in and then out. He knew neither call would make him feel any better. But still he picked up the phone, listening to the dial tone hum and hum until he couldn’t take the humming anymore. He hung up the receiver and promised himself, out loud, that tomorrow he would call his son, Victor. Tomorrow they would talk just like old times and tomorrow, maybe, Victor wouldn’t hate him anymore.
By Camille LeZotte8 years ago in Families
