Tonight when I was putting Sam to bed, she said, pulling the covers up to her chin petulantly, “I want a new Mommy. One that lets me do the things I want to do.” “OK,” I said. And I thought, for the hundredth time today, “Thank goodness AC comes home tomorrow!” AC has been in [...]
I cried this morning during read-a-loud time. It was the penultimate chapter of Charlotte’s Web. Sam handed me a tissue and said, “It’s OK, Mommy. It’s just pretend.” While I was crying and trying to read the words using the voices for each character that I had settled on (Charlotte– cultured, standard American; Wilbur– little [...]
Sam: “Mommy, do you know what I’m going to be when I’m an indult?” Me: “No, please tell me.” Sam: “A cashier. AND an artist.” Sam: “And I’m also going to be a mail woman.” Me: “You mean like a mail carrier? Someone who delivers the mail to people’s houses?” Sam: “Yes! And I’m definitely [...]
“So can I talk to her now?” “Sam! Mommy’s on the phone. Are you ready to talk to her?” … “She says she doesn’t want to. She’s too busy playing.” “She said that?” “Yup.” “Will you please tell her that I would like to talk to her?” Silence again. This time I hear some of [...]
Last night at the peer group critique event, the moderator gave us these guidelines for giving feedback to authors. He called it “the sandwich”: You start with the bread–say what you liked about the work. Keep it positive. Springy and moist, not too chewy. Then comes the meat–talk about what’s not working. But please be [...]
I used to go to academic conferences all the time. Two or three a year. I always wore the same professional clothing. In black. Because that’s what French scholars do. They wear black. Sometimes with a jaunty little scarf around the neck for color. Today I wore thigh-high red and black stripey socks with clunky [...]