Have you read Snow White lately? You should. The girls are hearing it at school and so, to temper the exposure, I bought a beautifully illustrated version of the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale, hoping that it might somehow be better than the Disney version floating around the classroom. No, it seems the Brothers Grimm were just as gruesome and primitive as Walt Disney.



To review, Snow White's mother, an odd sort who thought having a daughter with really white skin would bring her… Continue

Kate and I made banana bread last weekend. "Kate, the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour and I have only a 1/2 cup measuring cup, how many of these will I need?", holding out the measuring cup. She considered this, started to say two, and then stopped herself, "four". Kate understands math, it's a part of her, in the way she thinks and how she approaches the world. Unlike her mother who struggled with math from a very early age, Kate thinks in a very linear manner, and understands numbers and… Continue

When offered an option, I much prefer driving a rental car. Having nothing to do with novelty, the lure, quite simply, the complete unfamiliarity, and the assumption that I have no idea what I am doing, a consideration not given to me when driving my husband in the car we have owned for five years.



"Allyson, turn on the back wiper, you can't possibly see anything behind you".



Pulling on something to my left, the bright headlights go on, which I don't notice as I am… Continue

It happened again this weekend, "will the boys be bowling today?". At a birthday party for a six year old girl my children were erroneously identified, yet again, as boys. Happens all the time, really, and it doesn't bother me at all, nor does it seem to affect the emotional growth of my two girls who, dressed in navy corduroys and sweaters, were off and hurling bowling balls at each other before any of us had a chance to respond.



We hear it more frequently in the winter, when they… Continue

There were two girls on the other side of the gate who appeared to be about my age. We stood and looked at each other for a few minutes, smiling and waving. My grandmother appeared behind me and suggested that I come back inside, it was time for dinner. Not at all hungry, I wanted to go out and play with these girls. She waved them on but I held firm, I wanted to be on the other side. At five my Spanish was limited to hello, thank you, please, and a few food items. I tried them all, certainly… Continue