There are many things I’ve learned about myself since becoming a parent. I’ve learned how long I can go without showering.  I’ve learned just how far I’m willing to lower my culinary standards. But the lesson that has surprised me the most?  How much I love being a sports parent. I was not an athletic kid; in my youth you would have found me onstage with the other drama geeks, or … [Read more...]

I come from a long line of control freaks. Women who ran enormous households, who cooked for dozens at a time, who grew food and labored and raised children and supported husbands and took care of their elders—women who had no time for discussion or indecision.   Admittedly, my life isn’t nearly so chaotic, but somehow I still have the genetic drive to orchestrate every move of our … [Read more...]

I suppose it’s never been more fitting that we refer to our son as “Monkey”.  Once it was a nickname that represented the sweet goofiness of his little boy like demeanor –we spent our days happily chasing after a climbing boy and making goofy faces for photos.  Now, it has a decidedly more anthropological connotation, as the Monkey is now 14 and we find ourselves living among the apes.  … [Read more...]

I begin as most of us do these days when introducing ourselves, “Hi, I’m Lisa and I’m a mom”.  It’s the wonderful way we’ve come to identify ourselves, but truthfully it sometimes feels as if we’re all at some Mom’s Anonymous meeting, grasping paper cups full of coffee and hoping that acceptance is the first step towards independence. (Who are we kidding – I know what’s REALLY … [Read more...]