I was walking to the library with my two youngest kids on a brisk evening in December when one of them noticed a bus nearby that said “Happy Holidays” below the route number on the destination indicator. “Why not Merry Christmas?” one kid wanted to know.
I described as many of the holidays I could think of that happen at this time of year, and realized we needed a little education around the topic. So while we were at the library I picked up a couple of books on Hanukkah to get us started.
I attended March for Gaza on January 13, 2024 with six of my kids, along with thousands of other people. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when there was almost no news coverage of the event.
Even when I searched for coverage, anemic articles a couple of paragraphs long described the protest. Longer articles mentioned the DC event, but focused more on other protests that happened around the world the same day, particularly in Paris and London. Several articles implied that the DC protest was characterized by violence.
I was at the DC protest.
I will bear witness if the media won’t.
I give the following books the highest praise my home can offer – both my kids and I loved each story.
This morning, I am stirring my tea with a fork. All the spoons are in the dishwasher. Or in my teenage daughter’s room. My 5-year-old matter-of-factly using a fork to stir his hot cocoa earlier this week reminded me that A. We need more spoons and B. A fork does the job.
When people ask if we have pets, it’s always been an easy no. We have seven kids, why would we need pets?! At the same time, I wanted my kids to be comfortable around animals and compassionate towards them. I saw a flyer at our library for a program where you read to shelter animals.
Great, I thought, it’s an opportunity for exactly what I wanted – exposure to animals plus reading practice. What’s not to love?
