Month: March 2008

I can’t remember where I read the comment that being home with sick children is like being a POW but it’s right on the money.
These two have high fevers (103, 104) and a full-blown case of the cranks (I think it’s technically called the flu). After some travel at the front end of the week I’ve been home and in Mother Mode for a couple of days. It’s apple juice, motrin, television, crying. Repeat. Ad nauseum.
The shot above is from one of my flights this week. Those clouds and those flights are a nice place to go in my head when Grace and Whit are screaming at each other about absolutely nothing for the ninth straight hour.
I’m going to New York tomorrow with Christina to meet up with Kendall and Quincy. It’s our version of an engagement celebration for MKM since we all missed the February festivities. I’m really sincerely hoping the nagging sore throat I have doesn’t blossom into what the children have. Am also a little concerned about Dad’s ability to manage these two for the 30 hours or so that I’ll be gone. I’m roasting a chicken for them right now and later have plans to make zucchini muffins which I’m going to bastardize with chocolate chips in the hopes that Whit will eat them (I promise, it’s yummy – kind of like banana bread but not banana-y … duh).

That’s the update from the Hot Zone.

Just out of Grace’s parent-teacher conference. It’s official, just as Mamah was, I’m raising myself. My God. I felt like Dorian and Rania were talking about me, to the point where it got a little uncomfortable talking about areas for development. Grace appears to be a highly sensitive perfectionist. Hmm. Sound familiar? She is attuned to everything going on in the room, wants people to like her, and has the occasional meltdown when she fails at something. She can be a know-it-all and a touch bossy, though she seems to be working on that. She is best when she’s able to set the pace herself and often holds herself to challengingly high standards. She is physically competent, coordinated, and confident and she is fully of energy. She seems to be good at most things, spikily excellent at none so far.
Hell-o.
It’s really pretty extraordinary, this genetic stuff. Or maybe it’s nurture, but my instinct says nature.

My goal for the day: to be more empathetic to Grace. To give her space to fail and freak out and to make sure she knows she’s loved no matter what. You can read between the lines about what I want for myself, too.

Today I am headless poultry