I read an article once by Anna Quindlen in which she described why she had children — “to see the fireflies again.”  It was a great article which really captures the magic of children.  Today was a day in which I felt the magic and said “this is why. . . .”   

Today is a beautiful spring-like day and my son and I spent it this way:  Waking up early and reading together in bed; welcoming a friend from school over to play for a couple of hours (I was able to glimpse the future a little and see Kei having a best friend — what a great feeling); then, best of all, taking a little table outside and bringing Legos and puzzles out to play in the sunshine. 

They were simple toys and we just talked about what we were making and how “beautiful” (his word) all the colors were on the legos when they were mixed together.  I just looked at him and realized that were it not for him, I would likely never have played legos again, saw legos as being “beautiful”, learned the names and characteristics of countless dinosaurs or truly felt the joy of ”just playing.”

I think I was always a very serious child, but now, at times, it’s my job (which I do take seriously) to have fun. How great is that?

At one point, Kei said ” i just love it out here.” And, so did I.

this is why . . . by LenasNotebook

originally written in 2006, but still true . . . 

Posted under Random Thoughts

We love WordGirl!  WordGirl is a superhero on PBS.  She is from the planet Lexicon and fights evil-doers such as Two-Brains, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy, and Granny May.  

She loves and understands words, she’s strong and she’s funny. I want to be WordGirl.  I love that my son loves this show as well and gets the silly “word humor” (or if he doesn’t, we talk about it).   So much better than Spiderman and Dr. Octopus !

Word up, it’s WordGirl !  (that’s the theme song)

Posted under Random Thoughts, Storytelling

I love H&M, and apparently so does Michelle Obama.  This picture from New York Magazine shows Mrs. Obama wearing an H&M dress (which is in stock at our St Louis H&M by the way).  I love it !

Posted under Random Thoughts

Last night my son had something “very important” he needed to tell me before he could go to sleep. He said it was hard to explain.  But then he told me that he saw a lot of clouds in the sky at soccer practice and that he felt that  ” all those clouds, big and small, are like my dreams.”

So sweet. I wish we could all still see clouds as dreams . . .

Posted under Random Thoughts, Uncategorized

I once read an article in O Magazine in which three well-known women were each asked to write a letter to herself at a younger age.  What would you tell the “you” that existed 10 or 20 years ago? 

When I was in law school, there was a television show in which the female lawyer was going to take a deposition for the first time (a big deal for a new lawyer).  The show depicted how this lawyer felt when she was talking to the clients by showing her as a tiny girl in a big huge chair talking to these huge people. This rang true with me.

As I was going through law school and after I became a lawyer, I often felt like a “little girl” in an adult body with a “grown-up” profession.  Sometimes, I wanted to scream, “How can you take me seriously on this huge case, I am just a little girl.”  “Can’t you see me in here?”  Of course, I never did scream and I think I was a pretty good lawyer, but I sometimes still feel like that little girl riding her bike around town dreaming of being Nancy Drew.

So, here’s what I would write to the “me” that I was 10 or 20 years ago: Read More…

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My son is a huge fan of super heroes.  He has been drawing his own collection — sort of like the Justice League, but he calls them the League of Hard Workers. He hopes to someday get them trademarked (or “get a TM” as he calls it — which he sees on all his toys).   These are some of the League of Hardworkers (click to see full picture):   

I love his creativity and enjoyment of telling stories with his pictures.   Challenge yourself to draw a super hero today — who would you be?

Posted under Random Thoughts, Storytelling

This article was written last year when my son started kindergarten, but I wanted to share it with others who might have recently  gone through the same experience:

My son recently started kindergarten and he loves it.  I am not surprised that he loves it, but I was surprised by how hard it hit me when I took him his first day and how everyday is a new day of adjustment for me having a son in kindergarten. 

I honestly thought that there was no way I would be one of those emotional moms who cries on the first day of school and has more difficulty separating than the child does.  But, I was completely wrong and completely knocked over by the emotions that I experienced (and am still experiencing). 

Sure, I have stayed at home with him for the last 5 years and we have grown quite attached, but, I thought (reasonably, logically. . . . stupidly) that since he had attended pre-school for 3 hours a day the last 2 years and since there were times I ached for him to be in school all day so I could have a day to myself, that I would feel happy for him to be having such a big day and that it would be just another milestone. 

And it was — except that this milestone fell like a boulder!  I could barely breathe – it was laying right on top of my heart and I kept calling out that this could not be happening, my baby was not going to kindergarten! HELP!  No one was listening. My husband was smiling and saying “we need to go now; he’s fine” – and pushing me out the door. But, he was not removing the boulder – couldn’t he see the boulder, shouldn’t he remove it and grab our son and run?

Read More…

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    (picture by Kirby Ink)

Today is 9/11, of course.  And, I have been thinking about when I will explain this day to my son.  He is 6 and up until now, there was never really a question for me — it was too much for him to grasp and something he did not need to understand yet.  But now, I know he will hear things at school and there are things I want him to understand about that day.  But, it is hard to imagine explaining to him the tragedy and the loss of that day.  

I think instead, I will first talk with him about the heroes of that day.  This is something he will understand.  

Since he is very much into super heroes right now, he has asked whether they are real.  I have always told him that they are imaginary, but that real people can be heroes when they do great things for others.  This has never seemed to satisfy him.  He’d rather hear about people flying or being able to walk on buildings.  

He’s also asked, when he was sad, whether heroes cry.  We explained that everyone cries, even heroes, when there is pain or sadness.  

So, when we talk about 9/11, I will explain simply that there were a lot of heroes that day who did extraordinary things for others and saved lives of people in danger, and also that they cried.

I think this he will understand.

Posted under Random Thoughts