Am I really posting on a blog right now? Moi?

One of the many things I value in Amelia is her can-do attitude. Thank you, crafty mama friend, for giving me a nudge!

So. We are here to talk about what happened today, what we hope will happen tomorrow, and what we wish hadn't happened yesterday. My hope is that this can be a source of inspiration and humor for all those mamas out there who happen to be dear friends of mine. Or who might be dear friends, if only we lived close by...those friends of friends we all hear about and would like to know. I think what we have in common is the desire to live lives that are authentic and good - virtuous and beautiful! We think about what that means. We would like to give it to our children. And we get that that desire is expressed in tiny mundane moments.

I find meeting other mothers at preschool or the playground and chatting about everyday kid things can be downright alienating. Parenting involves such intimacies. I don't know these women, and in many cases we probably wouldn't share much more than a lane on the highway if we didn't both have children. There is something strange about hearing these strangers' potty-training tales or how they got their picky three year old to eat asparagus. Sure, sometimes those chats are fun and even helpful, but often I leave feeling judged, or judging, or defensive, or weary, or worst still: lonely.

I do *not* feel those things when I talk about parenting with my dear friends. I take pleasure in your kid stories! I share the joy of a triumphant birthday party, I empathize when your baby is sick, and I laugh like a crazy lady at something that would just be depressing if not for the chance to share it with a friend and turn it into an absurd and funny story. Finally, I get inspiration and a sense of solidarity from my friends who are also mothers. This job is not easy! I could use some good colleagues right now, and I cannot imagine better people to work with.

So even if we are far flung and living in completely different sorts of places, let's pretend we live in the same neighborhood, and you can tell us about those moments of divine family happiness and harmony that you authored (however fleeting) and we promise not to feel irritated or jealous or depressed, but rather to applaud you! To congratulate you! And perhaps to take some inspiration for our own everyday lives.

And so I will begin:

Today I plan to construct a kid-sized clothesline next to the big umbrella clothesline in the backyard. Whenever I hang up laundry the kids seem drawn to the whole event - Frances hanging around watching me and chatting, Gabriel whacking at the central pole with a big stick and reaching into the basket for any stray underwear he can fling around. So rather than save this task for naptime, I resolved to find a way to do the laundry together. I'll let you know how it goes.

My latest dinner-making-time occupation for the children is also worth sharing...I bought an enormous roll of brown butcher paper online. When I am at the stove and feel Gabriel's little paws hanging onto my legs and hear "uh uh uh! up up up!" I know it is time to roll it out across the kitchen floor, making a soothing brown river, an inviting expanse of open road. I put colored pencils and crayons out and tape the edges down and both children are so immediately absorbed and happy. I HIGHLY recommend this!

Okay, now you.