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Showing posts with the label mothering

To my daughter on her graduation day

Was it 14 years ago that I sat in a festively decorated school auditorium and watched my four-year-old daughter “graduate” from pre-school? The Thornridge Preschool did not skimp on the pomp and circumstance. Our daughter, Sabrina, wore a tiny white satin gown and a matching white graduation hat. The teachers made dozens of pastel tissue paper flowers that covered the small stage. Our daughter was over-the-moon excited for the celebration. She had ordained that the post-graduation festivities would include McDonald’s Happy Meals for everyone. That night, her dad and I sat on metal folding chairs and watched our little daughter walk up the aisle then sing with her classmates. The whole thing was adorable. Most of the time, however, Sabrina was distracted, admiring the little boy named Riley standing next to her. Riley was the class clown, and whenever they sang, Riley would sing theatrically, throw his arms out to the side like Pavarotti. Sabrina thought he was hilari...

Gilmore Girls, Mrs. Kim, and Over-Protective Mothering Mistakes

When my daughter was little, I tried to keep her from hurting herself. We put safety latches on drawers and moved sharp and breakable objects out of her reach. But with each year, our parental efforts to safeguard her existence get more difficult. While she has changed and grown and matured, our instinct, as parents, is still to keep her safe, to keep her from harm. I was thinking about this as I watched one of my favorite television series, The Gilmore Girls . In the show, there is a Korean mother and daughter, Mrs. Kim and her daughter Lane. Mrs. Kim owns an antique shop and keeps her daughter close at hand. She attends church regularly and forbids her daughter to talk to boys. She wants to keep her daughter pure and safe. There is only one problem. Lane. Lane is a delightful character. In the series, we watch as she progresses through junior high, high school, and college. She is sweet and funny and kind and awkward. She also is a HUGE fan of all sorts of music – music of ...