Social status! He’s not wrong about the telekinesis. I tried to reach my kids some lessons when we played life so I made a bunch of terrible choices on purpose, married like four men who all died, and lucked into a yacht and an oil field or something and won handily. It was like that Shirley MacLaine movie, do you remember it? So maybe it was more of a lesson for me.
Fresh from a full week off school for Thanksgiving, I really appreciate the reminder that other people had moments like you've captured here with their charming/infuriating children!
I'm flying through Kiley Reid's Come and Get It right now, and recently loved God of the Woods (Liz Moore).
My 6-year-old daughter kept asking me if could buy her "hockeys". She said her classmate eats them. My husband and I were puzzled and just kept saying, "Mmm hmm, sure." She kept bugging us, but we had no idea what she was talking about. She was getting frustrated with our ineptitude, so she drew, colored, and cut out cheeto-looking things from paper and put them in a sandwich bag and mimed eating them. TAKIS! I bought a bag of takis the next time I was at the grocery store, she tried them, and of course, said they were "too spicy" and declared them "disgusting".
Loved these vignettes. Thank you for sharing...two recommendations for books: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham. A poet writing a novel and a critic writing a novel, respectively, does a lot for the form.
Where in your day do you make time to read? I read Wellness for a book club and it is dense! My favorite book I've read in the last couple of years was "The Sympathizer" (assuming you've read "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" because it was on like a million lists)
A lot in the evening after kids are in bed, but I also just bring a book with me wherever I go and read whenever I have 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Excited about Wellness. I read the first few chapters in the bookstore.
I liked it! I had mixed feelings as it went on but then through the book club discussion, I actually circled back to my original feelings about it. It's funny how discussing books with others can totally change your final POV on a story!
This was great. Thank you. My 9 year olds close friend got an Apple Watch for her birthday this week and it’s been a lot of fun “so unfair” bc she’s now “literally the only one” without a smart watch or iPhone. Le sigh.
Oh boy. Julian's only Christmas wishlist item was an Apple Watch and we told him it was categorically not happening and now we've been blamed for ruining the entire holiday. Lol.
Haha, my 7 year old declared to an old lady we met on our walk that all he wants is a harmonica which a) wholesome but annoying and b) we’re doing Christmas on Sunday with my in laws, so guess who has to go around Edinburgh looking for a bloody harmonica? “Hey, bubs, it’s good to give Santa some notice if you want something…” “Santa knows everything, mumma, he’s got this…”
Social status! He’s not wrong about the telekinesis. I tried to reach my kids some lessons when we played life so I made a bunch of terrible choices on purpose, married like four men who all died, and lucked into a yacht and an oil field or something and won handily. It was like that Shirley MacLaine movie, do you remember it? So maybe it was more of a lesson for me.
There are really so many lessons to be learned from LIFE, as it turns out.
Fresh from a full week off school for Thanksgiving, I really appreciate the reminder that other people had moments like you've captured here with their charming/infuriating children!
I'm flying through Kiley Reid's Come and Get It right now, and recently loved God of the Woods (Liz Moore).
I’ve been so curious about God of the Woods!
Even tho “God of the Woods” takes place in summer it feels like a perfect cozy fall book.
I SO related to these vignettes!
My 6-year-old daughter kept asking me if could buy her "hockeys". She said her classmate eats them. My husband and I were puzzled and just kept saying, "Mmm hmm, sure." She kept bugging us, but we had no idea what she was talking about. She was getting frustrated with our ineptitude, so she drew, colored, and cut out cheeto-looking things from paper and put them in a sandwich bag and mimed eating them. TAKIS! I bought a bag of takis the next time I was at the grocery store, she tried them, and of course, said they were "too spicy" and declared them "disgusting".
Hahaha. My children love takis and I cannot look at them without thinking they are the maximal incarnation of processed food.
I LOVE your kids...that is all.
Loved these vignettes. Thank you for sharing...two recommendations for books: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham. A poet writing a novel and a critic writing a novel, respectively, does a lot for the form.
Oh I've heard great things about both of those books. Adding them to my library queue.
Oh. This was so perfect.
Your writing is such a salve, Youngna! :) Have you read “Margot’s Got Money Troubles” already? I really enjoyed it.
Ty! And I haven’t! On my list!
On the walk home from after school today my middle kid declared Mother’s Day is not even in his top 10 favorite holidays. …. Thanks?
Picked up The abandoners today and looking forward to it!
The non-sequiturs that come out of their mouths...just so cutting!
Where in your day do you make time to read? I read Wellness for a book club and it is dense! My favorite book I've read in the last couple of years was "The Sympathizer" (assuming you've read "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" because it was on like a million lists)
A lot in the evening after kids are in bed, but I also just bring a book with me wherever I go and read whenever I have 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Excited about Wellness. I read the first few chapters in the bookstore.
I liked it! I had mixed feelings as it went on but then through the book club discussion, I actually circled back to my original feelings about it. It's funny how discussing books with others can totally change your final POV on a story!
I agree! I'm in a book club too and often leave appreciating it in a very different light.
This was great. Thank you. My 9 year olds close friend got an Apple Watch for her birthday this week and it’s been a lot of fun “so unfair” bc she’s now “literally the only one” without a smart watch or iPhone. Le sigh.
Oh boy. Julian's only Christmas wishlist item was an Apple Watch and we told him it was categorically not happening and now we've been blamed for ruining the entire holiday. Lol.
Haha, my 7 year old declared to an old lady we met on our walk that all he wants is a harmonica which a) wholesome but annoying and b) we’re doing Christmas on Sunday with my in laws, so guess who has to go around Edinburgh looking for a bloody harmonica? “Hey, bubs, it’s good to give Santa some notice if you want something…” “Santa knows everything, mumma, he’s got this…”