When I married my wife, I married her friends, too. In an instant, I became their mover, their lifter, and their Starbucks butler. Shortly after my son was born, my wife’s friend asked if WE would watch her children and her house while she and her husband jetted to the Caribbean to create another baby […]
Parenting
Posted inBend Nest
Meet Todd Looby, Executive Director of BendFilm and Dad Extraordinaire
What is the single best thing you’ve learned from running a film festival? The assumptions I had previously about the importance of film as a forum to unite, excite and inspire are much truer than I thought. Festivals, when done right, work in the vast majority of communities, but having experienced festivals all over the […]
Posted inCulture
Name Game: Most Popular Baby Names
Census releases its top names for Oregon last year
It’s the first decision parents get to make for their babies: the name. It seems as if William Shakespeare’s phrase, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” isn’t the case when naming a child. It’s daunting, exhilarating and can be exhausting. This morning, the Social Security Association announced the most popular names […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
Maternal Adaptation
Adaptive. I can’t think of a better word to describe a mother’s role. From the time her belly starts to show to the day her child leaves the nest, a mother is constantly adjusting to new conditions—always molding to her (and her little one’s) environment. Take the attachment theory, for example. For those first few […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
27 and counting
At the request of a local Source Weekly reader (and mama-to-be), I’ve compiled my go-to list of motherly tips. “Not parenting clichés,” she specified. “Just simple, meaningful suggestions.” 1.Take it or leave it. It’s the best part about advice. 2. Allow yourself to feel. Elation, anger, heartbreak, confusion—let your feelings happen, but don’t let them […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
The Love Rollercoaster
Yesterday, I was the greatest mom in the world. Today, I’ll be starring in the dramatic, must-see production of Evil Mommy and the Unlucky Boy Who Never Gets His Way. It’s official. My five-year-old son has fulfilled all height requirements, led me to the front of the line, and dragged me aboard the love rollercoaster. […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
The No Smoking Signs
About eight years ago, I made a really crappy decision. Scratch that. I made several crappy decisions. But somewhere at the top of that crappy-decision list is the one that I neglected to permanently correct (as I should have) after entering the parenthood club. Now as a parent—the one responsible for selflessly nurturing a young […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
Brain Training
Every now and then, I find myself pondering over those anti-narcotics commercials I remember seeing as a kid—you know, the ones that warned youngsters just how yolky their brains would look, all drugged up. As a mother, I’m now convinced that the campaign slogan had originally read “This is your brain on parenting” before some […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
Got Questions? Share Stories!
When I was eight years old, I published my first book, well, 20 pages of “published” material assembled using a confidence-boosting book-making kit called IlluStory. An aspiring author, indeed, I continued my pursuit for the big leagues, trying my hand at fiction a few years later with some lengthy, The-Baby-Sitters-Club-meets-Goosebumps narrative detailing a day in […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
Between An Easel and A Hard Place
A few days ago, my five-year-old son discovered a piece of his artwork crumpled up at the bottom of my bathroom trashcan. “Mom!” he cried, retrieving and smoothing out said artwork. “I made this for you.” My heart filled with remorse as I looked down at the bright green Post-it in his hand (which, suffice […]