by Dawn | Jul 26, 2014 | family
“Mommy, you’re sending me to summer camp so we don’t have to go on vacation!” Declan wanted “vacation.” That means a hotel with a pool. He feels sold out. “No, I’m sending you to summer camp because it’s fifty-five...
by Dawn | Jul 19, 2014 | parenting, Teaching
Declan wants zombies. He loves the video game Plants vs. Zombies. “Mom, go to Amazon.com.” Amazon.com rests somewhere between mind reading and magic, suggesting things I didn’t even know I needed. The mail carrier brings them with a smile. It’s...
by Dawn | Jul 17, 2014 | food, parenting
“Miss, you ain’t had Kool-aid till you had it in the projects!” I’d been in and out of this neighborhood a million times, but no one ever stopped to offer me Kool-aid before. My student was going into the Marines. His family invited me by for...
by Dawn | Jul 8, 2014 | parenting, writing, Zen
Summer recreation. It’s a gift from God to all parents who work twenty-five hours a day. It’s eighty dollars for the whole summer. I’m in love. Declan’s been talking about summer camp for days, but yesterday was the first day. We packed his...
by Dawn | Jul 3, 2014 | parenting, Zen
Declan’s chasing me with a stick. “Don’t chase me with a stick,” I say. I know someone whose eye was poked out. Sticks are dangerous. “I’m not chasing you. The zombie’s chasing you.” “Zombies go slow.” Plants...
by Dawn | Jun 30, 2014 | family, self-improvement
I usually dedicate one weekend day to laundry. That night becomes “too tired to fold laundry night.” Sometimes I skip a week because I don’t see nearly enough full laundry baskets hanging around the house, but when they’re overflowing and...