Category: Children
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Snapshot of Serenity
Sitting on my back porch, enjoying an unusually cool morning, I look down at the pool of urine around my ankles. No, postpartum incontinence hasn’t gotten the better of me. My almost-three-year-old decided she’d rather stay snuggled on my lap than take the long, four meter trek to the bathroom. She was soaked, my legs…
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Paris in the spring, with kids – an interview
I am currently enjoying Paris by screen, that is, my computer screen, where I daily take in the luscious photos of my friend and her family enjoying Paris with their toddlers. Though I’ve been to Paris many times, my thirst is not satisfied. How could it be? It’s Paris! So, though I can’t presently be…
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Motherhood, Oatmeal and Delaying Gratification
I’m convinced the essence of motherhood is delayed gratification. Or, more realistically, the hope that our hard work and dying to self will yield positive results in our children. This dying-to-self business is a challenge. In my dream world, my children sleep until 9am (and go to bed at 7pm). I wake up, run, shower, read and…
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Turmoil in South Sudan – Interview with American family who calls South Sudan home
On Christmas Day you probably were not thinking about South Sudan. At least not very much. I wasn’t. But, if you are the Faders, you were. They left their home and relationships in South Sudan for a Christmas holiday, not knowing their return would be tenuous. A year ago the Faders were featured on willtravelwithkids,…
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The Ill-Fated Feast – Mom’s perspective
As I recalled the account of a fateful holiday meal, posted yesterday on Communicating Across Boundaries, I asked my mom to recount the event from her perspective: That Thanksgiving is a bit of a blurr. Of course, I wanted it to be perfect. Dad had gone to Malawi, by train, to get our beloved students.…
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The ill-fated holiday feast
Today I have the privilege of writing a guest post for Communicating Across Boundaries. Marilyn Gardner of CAB is a passionate writer who covers a wide range of topics. I appreciate her perspectives on culture and Third Culture Kid (TCK) issues. She spent formative years in Pakistan and has traveled extensively, with a keen eye…
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When Fear is Your Currency [aka ‘Is it Safe?’]
I always appreciate Marilyn Gardner’s perspective on issues. She blogs frequently at Communicating.Across.Boundaries. Today she posted about the concept of safety when traveling or living not only abroad, but even at home. How often I’ve been asked “But is it safe?” when I tell people where I’ve been or where we plan to go with…
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Parental pride at the President’s house – Monticello, Virginia
On the east coast of the United States historic sites are as numerous as the dust bunnies on my floor. There are a lot. And instead of cleaning my house and sweeping dust wads, we are being intentional about visiting some of those sites. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, was our most recent victim. Little Peanut…
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The boring meerkat, ubiquitous squirrel and chocolate acorn
Squirrels are America’s meerkat. The locals don’t bat an eye at them, but the visitor finds them fascinating. While living in East Africa, meerkats were boring. Meerkats, meerkats, more meerkats. At the American zoo, they draw crowds. I haven’t seen North American squirrels in a zoo in Africa (embarrassing disclaimer: I haven’t been to a…
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Cheap* mom art project OR Kid’s travel art in six steps
The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, a boat ride on Scotland’s Loch Ness, Mozart’s house in Vienna and Mont Saint Michel. What do they all have in common? A ticket stub. A ticket stub begging to be beautifully arranged in an archival quality, acid free, plastic-page-covered scrapbook the family will cherish for generations. What a great…
will travel with kids 