Tag: mother’s day

Book Review: What on Earth am I Doing Here?

by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, Life's too short to read bad books

To be honest, I didn’t want to read this book. Why? Because it’s about a difficult subject: The Holocaust. I have read extensively about this topic, watched movies (okay, with my glasses off for most of them-and I am extremely nearsighted), visited memorials, and discussed it in classes.
I thought I was done.

what on earth am i doing here

 

And then, my husband told me that I should read this book: What on Earth am I Doing Here?  ‘What for?’ I asked. ‘Because it’s good’, he said.’How do you know about it?’ I asked. ‘I know the author,’ he replied.

Dov Ronen

At first, I said, ‘No thank you,’ ever so politely. However, I don’t like to disappoint my husband, so I decided to read it after all.

I couldn’t put it down. I literally read it in one sitting.

This is a seriously important book. I feel it’s sort of male version of The Diary of Anne Frank. It tells the story of one family’s experience surviving the Holocaust from the point of view of a ten-year old boy. It’s sort of cross between a creative memoir and historical fiction. As horrifying and terrifying as it is for me to read about this subject, this book is different. It has the innocence of the perspective of the young boy who is trying to make sense of the impossible, who doesn’t fully know or understand (as if anyone could) what was happening around him. About how they all miraculously survived with the help of brave friends and their mother’s courage, strength, and ingenuity.

Of course, he saw and experienced some terrible things, some of which are described in the book. In the end though, I was left with a hopeful feeling. It’s a story of how every single member of one family survived one of the worst ordeals in the history of the world.

NOTE: I read this book on Mother’s Day. I didn’t really think it was a natural choice for Mother’s Day reading…until I read it. The mother in this book is an amazing woman, and it’s largely due to her that they all made it through.

I have to say it again: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT BOOK. Read it.

After you read this book,  read my book! One Brave Thing

 

 

My foremothers

by Karen, posted in family, good grief

This is the first Mother’s Day in 3 years that I have had the day off from work.

YAY!

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It gave me more time to spend with my kids, for which I am endlessly grateful. It also gave me more time for reflection, for which I am also very grateful. In years past, I have gone to the ocean to remember my mother and grandmothers, which I got to do today.

In the past, I have written about ‘grieving my dead relatives’ quite often. Today, for some reason, I feel inspired to put up their wedding pictures instead.

My mother and grandmothers: strong, confident, capable women, all. Even if they didn’t always know it.

All are greatly loved and missed.

Just for fun, I am adding a wedding picture of my own (recently taken when renewing our commitment to one another).

Me and Bill

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Mother’s monkey mind

by Karen, posted in family, Holidays, Midlife Crisis, relationships, tweens

On a recent episode of The Middle, the mom Frankie got it wrong. For mother’s day, she thought she wanted the entire day to herself, free of husband and children, to do whatever she wanted to. This was a classic episode of “be careful what you wish for” because all she managed to do that day was fix things that were broken, defrosting things that were frozen, clean things that were dirty. By the time she finally sat down on the couch with her magazine and her baked goods, the fam came home.  The day was over. Frankie was bereft.

Frankie got it wrong because having the whole day off when you never have the whole day to yourself is just too overwhelming to be fully appreciated without some advance planning. She was not given enough notice and did not give the day enough forethought to do it right. I am completely familiar with this phenomenon. I routinely screw up unscheduled blocks of time that I unexpectedly have to myself because…because there are just so many things that I want to do that I don’t have the time for in everyday, workaday life!


Have the gift of an unscheduled block of time? Enter the monkey mind, and all can be lost in a heartbeat. This monkey mind mayhem can be wreaked on any special day, not just Mother’s Day. Just thinking about all of the things I want to do: read? Write? Knit? Practice a little yoga? Bake a batch of cupcakes/brownies/cookies? Work in the garden? Sometimes it becomes like diagnosing an illness: a ruling out process that takes so long that by the time an activity is decided upon the time you had in which to engage in it has passed (like what happened to Frankie).

The truth is this: when our family members are not with us, we may have a small undercurrent of worry (What are they doing? Are they safe?), or at least of distraction that gets in the way.

In the end, she got it right. She did want her family around, just (barely) within earshot and eyeshot in the next room, working on a puzzle together, getting along with each other. They had strict instructions not to talk to her or try to engage her in any way whatsoever.

She had the best couple of hours ever.

women of note

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, tweens

my daughter and i went to see Women of Note in Kennebunk on Mother’s Day, as we have for the past several years in a row. we appreciate that this free concert is given year after year, hosted by the Atria and open to the public. The concert lasts about an hour and there are hors d’hoevres provided afterward, to which my eleven year old especially looks forward (because for us, it is so often ‘all about the food’!) :).

her favorite song is “mr sandman” and so far, she has never been disappointed. they perform it every time we’ve seen them. we also love it when they incorporate props into the songs. they tease each other mercilessly which makes the show even more fun to watch.

Women of Note also have performed as part of the Wells Harbor Summer Concert series in recent years at the Wells Harbor Park.

if you ever have the opportunity to see them, go! you’ll be happy that you did! it’s so nice to know that your tween may enjoy listening to music and seeing a show that you will also enjoy! and there isn’t one jonas brother in the bunch!