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He Named Her Malala
Not long ago the new school year started for us across the United States. For my family and I know for many, schedules were shifted meaning earlier wake up times and cranky kids. My Inara, now in second grade in Laguna Beach, California, sighed heavily and expressed her annoyance at both the early rising expected of her in the morning and the interruption to her summer social life. I brushed her hair and told her a story about a girl on the other side of the world who was forbidden to go to school, but risked her life to do it anyway. I told her the story of Malala Yousafzai.…
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The Center Stage Studio (and My Second Childhood)
When we first realize that our child is interested in our own passions, the first thought is elation. I KNOW that! I know how that world works, I did it once too! We can chat with the other adults running the program as if we are old colleagues. We know the requirements, the routines, the general culture around it. And of course there’s that evolutionary parent pride, knowing that they must have gotten some gene that made them more like you. But then the next emotions come through: yeah, I know that world. I remember the hard work, the heartbreak, and all the things about it that scared me and…
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Sawdust Art Festival’s Winter Fantasy
For those of us lucky enough to live in or be visiting Southern California this month, a can’t-miss event is the Sawdust Art Festival’s 24th Annual Winter Festival. As this is our first winter living in Laguna Beach, we were eager to attend the opening day festivities on Saturday. We spent the afternoon and evening walking the sawdust-covered paths through the hand-crafted village with new friends; the kids got their faces painted while the adults enjoyed wine, the weather was SoCal-perfect (Hats and gloves? Purely for fashion’s sake!), and we all filled our heads with visions of local art under our trees this year. The festival grounds have been transformed into…
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It Will Be Ok, Mom. (Back To School Post)
As our crazy busy summer came to an end, I started brainstorming all of the original content I would create for this blog as soon as the munchkin headed off to school in the morning today. Wanting for weeks to write for you, I quickly learned that shuttling her around to various summer camps in a part of the country I was previously unfamiliar with (new roads, traffic patterns, tourists!) while maintaining a home that is undergoing renovation was too much to do. But this morning our little family rose and readied early and walked down to the elementary school bus stop on Coast Highway. With the grey Pacific Ocean…
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What Have You Done for You Lately?
“Baby, what have you done for you this week?” It was such a simple question, but it jarred me. I’d met with contractors, unpacked some more boxes, shuttled my daughter to her soccer and swimming and beach exploration camps, cleaned the house, did the laundry, organized some files, hung photos and got the back patio in working condition. This was all for us, for our family, which I am of course a part of. What did my husband mean what did I do for me? It’s such a common story that I feel ridiculous writing about it; mothers putting themselves last. Whether working ourselves to the bone for our families,…
