Prelude to an Empty Nest
Filed Under All Posts, Parenting, Prudence Baird | 15 Comments
The screen door bangs shut behind me, echoing in a house that only last week was filled with the last frantic scrabblings of summer vacation.
The school backpacks no longer hang on their hooks by the door; they are off for another tour of duty filled with new spiral notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, pocket-sized tissue packs and re-charged cell phones.
I stand just inside the front door, unable to move. Unwilling to hang up my keys. Incapable of addressing this morning’s breakfast dishes, still in the sink.
I am paralyzed by the sudden realization that all too soon there will be no more first days of school. Read more
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Filed Under All Posts, Family, Parenting, Prudence Baird | 11 Comments
“Tim must be doing very well!” I can almost hear my friend Sarah’s eyebrows hitting her hairline when I tell her my family is going to England and Scotland for a month this summer.
Yeah, this summer—when a cup of London Starbucks is ₤3, the equivalent of $6.
Even though Sarah didn’t exactly ask the question, she did beg it: Why on earth would a sane person, let alone a family of four, hop the pond now when the dollar is in the toilet and even the esteemed New York Times Travel section trumpets “Europe? It’s way too expensive!” Read more
A Killer and the Bee
Filed Under All Posts, Parenting, Prudence Baird | 11 Comments
To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you go bicycle riding with the family you have, not the family you want or wish to have at a later time.
For one thing, there is no later time. Having children at ages 38 and 40 IS later.
And for another…well, there is no other. Options are limited when you debut a husband, two infants and a mortgage early in the second act of your life. Read more
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Filed Under All Posts, Christie Healey, Group Posts, Parenting | 2 Comments
I knew Fred would be an artist when he was four years old. He started to create a complex color drawing: 24 inches long and 20 inches wide. The drawing started with a boat, then an iceberg was added followed by sharks and other underwater creatures. The drawing would be worked on for weeks at a time and then put away for months before being taken out again. He completed the piece just before his sixth birthday. As complex as the final artwork became, it was not cluttered. Plenty of white space to rest the eye, create flow and add dimension. Read more
NPR Causes Wrinkles. It’s True.
Filed Under All Posts, Beauty, Humor, Parenting, Prudence Baird | 3 Comments
Botox causes brain damage. Cell phones cause brain cancer. Teenage children cause brain implosion. Okay, that last one is NOT true—but they do make you feel like your head is going to explode.
Especially when you are trying to hear on NPR a report about the link between brain damage and Botox that was just discovered by an Italian research team and your teenage son is talking about — what? I very exaggeratedly turn UP the volume on the radio and shake my head at him.
These actions are apparently universal American body language code for “Please speak louder,” because he leans into my face and says — what? Read more
Growing Older: I’m Addicted to It.
Filed Under All Posts, Courage, Group Posts, Humor, Parenting, Prudence Baird | 3 Comments
Hi. My Name is Prudence, and I’m a Baby Boomer.
It’s not simple being a Boomer. You have to Take It Easy – especially these days with the less-than perfect balance and vision.
You have to live One Day at a Time – I’ve never figured this out, so we’ll just pass on it.
And, you have to Keep Coming Back, It Works!
Okay, that last one is bullshit.
Read more
