Category: Uncategorized
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To My Children’s Teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day: Thank You For Keeping Us Going
Dear Teachers, I just want you to know, there are days when I want to give up on this whole “distance learning” thing. There are days that I want to close my eyes and surrender—to let my kids plug themselves into Youtube or Xbox or whatever device they’d rather watch instead of doing school. Because,…
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To My Friends on Facebook: I’m Not as Good of a Mom As You Think I Am
TO: My Friends on Facebook Maybe you’ve seen my Facebook posts lately? The ones chronicling the slew of things we’ve been doing since this dreaded lockdown started? Take that video of my 5-year-old “surfing”—the one that shows her balancing on a boogie board propped on pillows, in front of a TV airing POV surf videos—that…
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A Letter to My Middle Child
Dear Middle Child, I’m sorry that your sister was crying while you were getting your award at the school assembly today.
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I Resolve to Stop Rushing
We were late again. The daily morning chaos had unfurled in all its glory: Oldest Child was refusing to eat breakfast (this time because of a newly-erupted canker sore); Middle Child was lackadaisically searching the house for his shoes (which would inevitably be found a full 5 minutes later right by the door). Youngest Child,…
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The Day I Broke My Daughter’s Finger
The kittens were about to run away. My 3-year-old daughter and I had just walked inside from the street and the kittens were trying to make a run for it. They were our 12-week-old foster kittens, and they weren’t supposed to be outside. I reacted, screaming simply: “The kittens!” as I lunged for the door…
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To the Horrible Person I Become When My Husband Gets A Cold
Dear Horrible Person I Become When My Husband Gets A Cold: I don’t know where you came from or why you take over every time hubby gets a sniffle, but something’s got to change. I know you’re busy. I know that sniffle gives you one more thing to take care of in your taking-care-of-everything schedule.…
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When the Bully is Your Brother
This article was originally published in the Daily Breeze, 2016. The boxing gloves fit his tiny hands the way Daddy’s leather shoes fit his feet. But there he was: My 4-year-old elf child — standing a good six inches smaller than everyone else — with a punching bag hanging in front of him like an…
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An Open Letter to My TV
photo: Flickr Creative Commons Dear TV, Some people call you a babysitter. They say that sitting a toddler in front of you is a no-no, that using you to keep kids quiet is up there with giving babies iPhones to quell crying fits. But I just wanted to say: Thank you. You, my dear TV,…
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To the Crazy Person Living Inside My 3-Year-Old
Dear Crazy Person Living Inside My 3-Year-Old, I’m sorry I pushed the garage door button. I forgot that you go absolutely bonkers when deprived of the opportunity to push any sort of button. I was in a hurry, and I wasn’t thinking. My bad. I’m also sorry for turning off the TV in the middle…
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An Open Letter to Perfect Moms
To the moms who give their kids bento boxes from the Pottery Barn and fill them with things like dried kale and edamame beans instead of Cheerios and chips: You make me feel inadequate. Just today, I let my two-year-old have a popsicle for breakfast (sure, he ate some egg and cheese first, but still:…
Melissa Heckscher 