Category Archives: expectations

The face of determination

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Monkey Man heads to kindergarten in the fall, a year behind his sister and his chronological mates.  It was a decision that seemed right given his physical challenges.  In some ways, though, it does seems strange to hold him back … Continue reading →

Posted in children, expectations, experience, family, growth | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Simplifying: harder than a simple equation

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A few days ago, I raised the issue of simplification with my husband. It had been a particularly challenging week, with mid-day doctor appointments for my mother-in-law, therapy for Monkey Man, parent-teacher conferences at my school, and a few days … Continue reading →

Posted in coaching, dreams, education, expectations, experience | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Patience

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Gorilla Girl corrects my of my behavior almost as much as I remind her of our expectations for her behavior. I suppose if she continues to reprimand me, it could become a point of contention — my own parents would … Continue reading →

Posted in community, expectations, family, growth, lessons, motherhood, patience | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Working mom 101

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I know that all moms work. But I also know that it feels different to be home all day with the kids while not “working outside the home” and I know this because I have the luxury of taking the … Continue reading →

Posted in chores, expectations, experience, family, feminism, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Looking a gift horse in the mouth

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We are moving my mother-in-law into our apartment, and in the process, we’ve been giving away, or attempting to give away, various items that we no longer have the space to keep.  I’ve posted the items we want to give … Continue reading →

Posted in affluence, community, expectations, neighbors, unexpected gifts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Morning mourning

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Last night at 10 pm, I got a call from the University of Chicago Medical Center asking me to participate in a survey about my experience with the hospital. I suppose hospitals do this from time to time, survey patients … Continue reading →

Posted in expectations, experience, lessons, loss, memory, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Midsummer’s arrival

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

For teachers (and students), and anyone else who works in a job where summer is synonymous with a more relaxed schedule, and fewer obligations, summer often arrives just as we are frayed around our edges. In those few weeks before … Continue reading →

Posted in beer, expectations, fairy tales, summer | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Playing dress up

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Monkey Man has found a new love — playing dress up. Gorilla Girl has a box of “princess” dress up clothes that we bought for Christmas, and she has been recently wearing the various princess outfits over her own clothing. … Continue reading →

Posted in expectations, experience, fairy tales, family, feminism, gender, identity, lessons, spring | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The perfect mistake

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

A week ago, one of my 7th grade classes sent me into a rant about mistakes. First, TS interrupted his classmate, CM, who was providing a fairly accurate comment about the impact of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin on the demand … Continue reading →

Posted in education, expectations, identity, lessons, mistakes, teaching, teen stress | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Look, crocuses!

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Two bloggers that I follow wrote things today about stories — about the significance of stories and about how stories not only have the power to connect us, but also to provide us with comfort and escape when life’s disappointments … Continue reading →

Posted in connection, expectations, experience, loss, spring, stories, transformation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments