by Bromleigh McCleneghan I have a “mean mommy voice.” My own children have known this for years, known that I have only a given amount of tolerance for bedtime procrastination, known that I only like to ask them to do something six or seven hundred million times before I raise my voice in frustration. I … Continue reading
More Presents? This year, we’ve decided to buy more presents for Christmas, not less. We’re going to spend more money, get more stuff, wrap more packages, indulge in more consumerism. I know, I know—we’re supposed to be teaching our children about Jesus and generosity and not subject the holiday to frenzied consumerism. That’s actually why … Continue reading
“Can we pray Shegofa’s prayer, Mommy?” Eden asks. She’s anxious again; her 7-year-old yearnings for a world of peace arise at bedtime. Shegofa comes in to Eden’s room, spreads out a small mat on the floor, and leads Eden in an Arabic prayer. As I listen, the soothing words wash over me. I know that … Continue reading
I think I am parenting “the mayoar” (spelling used by my first grader). Whenever we find ourselves in public settings, he feels the need to work the room, greet folks, share information and schmooze. Sometimes these tendencies are endearing and “cute”. Other moments, I feel my cheeks turning a strong shade of pink wishing I … Continue reading
September 18, 2013 I recently listened to an interview Krista Tippett did with iconic Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. As someone who is usually very down-to-earth, I love Nadia. It was very interesting and almost humorous to listen to her have a conversation with Krista Tippett, the soft-spoken, spiritually ambiguous host of “On Being.” Nadia is … Continue reading
Tomorrow, I will hopefully be waking up in my new home, living a new dream of five acres and trees and a pond and the promise of chickens and goats in the spring. Today, though, I am sitting in a house littered with boxes and stuff I don’t know what to do with and stuff … Continue reading
August 21, 2013 In a previous post, I talked about the prayers that I routinely sing with my children at bedtime. There’s another bedtime practice I seem to have developed lately: getting them riled up. It goes like this: as my two children are going to bed, they each always want me to come in … Continue reading
My son has worn not one, but two bare patches in our front yard. He spends every non-rainy free moment outside in the yard, throwing a hardball into the air and catching it in his glove, or tossing a wiffle ball and swinging at it with the bat, or trying to convince every other child … Continue reading
It’s 3:30am, my 4 week old son Deklan is having gas problems. Everything we try doesn’t work. With one sympathetic look at each other my wife and I know that we need to hunker down, do everything we can for our son and get through the night. In the morning I grab a massive coffee, … Continue reading
From the backseat, my five-year-old asked, slowly, “Mommy, is ‘T’ the first number for God?” It took me a minute, but I figured out he was trying to spell. “No, baby,” I told him, “the letters for God are g-o-d.” He was fidgeting with his hands, I could tell, but I was driving and didn’t … Continue reading
