Posts by Kate
i’m having trouble focusing today
Could this be because my morning work time was swallowed by three children—two mine, one not? Could it be because one of the said children had diarrhea all over my—ahem—clean-this-very-morning bathroom? Could it be that I’m in one of those writerly slumps (and full of despondency)? Could it be that I’m just impatient for spring—real…
Read Morethe personal, the political
There is something that’s been bubbling under the surface these last few weeks, something born from a combination of anger and fear and hope. I’ve been reading Shari MacDonald Strong’s The Maternal is Political and Caroline Grant’s and Elrena Evan’s Mama, PhD. How amazing to read these books side by side. There is power there,…
Read Morethe top seven
Thank you to everyone who submitted a toddler haiku for the annual Mother Words Haiku Contest. You can read all the entries here and here. This year, my dear friend Jess agreed to judge the contest, so I’m turning it over to Jess, who says: I’m a little troubled by the prevalence of excretion in…
Read Moreoh where oh where
are all the haiku? People, don’t make me bust out my own mad haiku skills. Post your toddler haiku here for a chance to win a $10 amazon gift card. Seriously, if you spend ten minutes writing your haiku, that’s a dollar a minute. The deadline has been extended to Saturday, March 28th. Don’t be…
Read Moreblack box and an interview with julie schumacher
A couple of months ago, I discussed Julie Schumacher’s essay “A Support Group is My Higher Power,” which appeared in the New York Times’ Modern Love column. I was struck by this piece, which rang true to me and resonated with my own writing about Stella’s birth. Today I’m going to discuss her latest young…
Read Morehaiku you
I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet this week. I have a number of things of my blogging list, including an interview with the wonderful Julie Schumacher and a review of her new book, Black Box. But with the radio thing on Sunday (which went well, I think), the launch of Mother Words Online yesterday (yay!)…
Read Moregood enough moms
Hey, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be the guest on the Good Enough Moms show on FM107.1 tomorrow, March 15th, from 1-2 p.m. I’ll be talking about writing and teaching and motherhood. Listen if you can. (It will be streaming online, as well.) And after the show I’m going to…
Read Morefor the love of tachistoscopes
For several weeks while I was in 10th grade, my goal was to become a speed reader. Okay, so this was unlikely—I had never been a very fast reader—but Mrs. K, my English teacher, had convinced me it was possible. Mrs. K was a kind woman, if a bit stern. Now I would call her…
Read Moreone year old!
A year ago, I woke up nervous and still sick with the cold that wouldn’t go away. Big, wet snowflakes fell outside, and I was snuffling and coughing. D took Stella out to breakfast so I could rest, but it was difficult for me to sleep. How could I sleep when I knew that in…
Read Moreshould
It’s embarrassing how many of my sentences and thoughts begin with “I should…” I wish I could remove the word from my vocabulary, vote it out of my life. But even if I refused to say it, or—and this seems impossible—refused to think it, it would still be there, a silent but persistent anxiety, an…
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