A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

Living Under the (Parental) Influence

{ You can climb a tree in a dress, but it’s probably harder. }

Lily has always preferred to wear dresses. I’ve been quite proud of this. As someone whose go-to outfit is a pair of jeans and a Favorite T from the Gap, I’ve happily basked in her reflected glory. When other mothers tell me that their daughters want to know why they can’t wear dresses every day like Lily, I make polite noises but inside I’m pleased to be associated with such a little style icon.

I should have known it wouldn’t last.

This morning I stood in front of Lily’s closet and asked which dress she wanted to wear.

“I don’t want to wear a dress,” she said.

“What?!” I gasped, looking at the row of darling new dresses I got on sale at Lands End. “What do you want to wear?”

“Jeans,” she said. “And a shirt.”

A better person than I wouldn’t have grumbled about buying new dresses for no reason. A truly supportive mother would have cheerfully let her daughter wear what she wanted and encouraged her to just be herself. But there’s the rub: is Lily being herself or is she being like all the other kids? Or worse—is she being like me?

[Read more…] about Living Under the (Parental) Influence

Glamping Party

I was looking for ideas for Lexie’s birthday party and came across this Glamping (glamorous + camping) Party by Elissa of One Stone Events featured on Hostess with the Mostess. With everything going on right now, I can’t imagine going all out like Elissa did for this party, but it might be fun to try a few of the ideas. I like the tater tots in embellished tin cans, the fiery cupcakes, and the lantern and birch “garland.” I’ll run it by Lexie and see what she thinks—it might be the right combination of tomboy and girlie for our soon-to-be 11-year-old.

You can find more photos and details here.

Sweet Paul’s Fall Issue

The newest issue of Sweet Paul is available online. I sat down this morning, coffee in hand, to read it and couldn’t scroll through the pages fast enough. Gorgeous photography, creative ideas galore (homemade dog shampoo, an indoor camping party, silhouettes), and tons of great recipes (Mexican crab soup, thyme-roasted chicken with pears, Nordic apples and cream). Plus a few stories to inspire you (my favorite is “The Apple Cider That Will Cure the World”).

Happy reading!

Keeping Our Childhood Pacts

Painting of child writing

{ Henriette Browne, A Girl Writing; The Pet Goldfinch, ca. 1870. Victoria and Albert Museum. }

I stayed up far too late last night finishing The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. But I don’t care because it was worth it and, anyway, that’s why God invented coffee.

When I learned that Alan Bradley was a bit of a late bloomer, having published his first novel when he was 70, I suspected we might be kindred spirits. When I read that his 11-year-old protagonist’s late mother had Anne of Green Gables in her collection, I was pretty sure of it. (I don’t know if L. M. Montgomery coined the phrase “kindred spirit,” but Anne said it a lot.) When I got to Mr. Bradley’s acknowledgements and he actually used the phrase “kindred spirit,” I knew for sure.

One of the best things about kindred spirits is that they usually introduce you to other kindred spirits. In his acknowledgments, Mr. Bradley thanked mystery writer Louise Penny, describing her as “a Dagger winner herself, whose warm generosity and encouragement is exemplified in the beacon her website has become for aspiring writers.”

I ran right over to Ms. Penny’s website and I’m so glad I did. Among the encouraging things she wrote was this:

If you’ve actually finished your first book, well, you’re AMAZING! You’re already so far ahead of the pack they can barely see your dust! Most people never even start that first book. Of the few that do, most never finish. If you’ve actually finished, well done! Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, the pact you made with yourself, probably as a child, is complete. You wrote the book. You did it. And, if it’s never published you should have no regrets. I’m serious. You’ve accomplished something most people only dream of.

I love this part: …the pact you made with yourself, probably as a child, is complete. You wrote the book.

Louise Penny nailed that one on the head. Writing a book is definitely the kind of dream that begins in childhood. Reading her words, it really hit me that keeping a promise you made to yourself as a child is a powerful thing, no matter what the world thinks about it.

Since nearly every person I know is not a writer, I’m curious about the pacts other people made with themselves when they were children. Was it a creative endeavor? Did it involve helping people or changing something in the world? Do you remember making the pact and, if so, have you kept it?

{If you didn’t make a pact of some kind with yourself when you were young, you can still make one. As George Eliot said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”}

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

I have nothing to share today because all I can think about is getting back to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I started reading yesterday afternoon and within the first chapter or two, I fell hook, line, and sinker for Flavia de Luce, the 11-year-old protagonist. My younger kids are finally in bed, so I can read!

Flavia is about to break the case wide open, but I do have to share one thing. Alan Bradley was seventy when this book—his first novel—was published. When asked if he had always had a passion for writing or if it was a more recent development, Bradley said, “Well, the Roman author Seneca once said something like this: ‘Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms—you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.’ So to put it briefly, I’m taking his advice.”

Three cheers for late bloomers! And if you love a good mystery, definitely give this book a try.