Adventures In Motherhood

Summer escapades are not for the faint of heart in our family of six; further evidence we never do anything small! A family of avid outdoor enthusiasts, we participated in Sunday Parkways last weekend in North Portland, an 8.8 mile loop bringing out cyclists of all persuasions from Storm Troopers and Unicyclists playing the violin, to dogs on bikes (my own included). Sunday Parkways in Portland is family friendly and the Forced Family Fun (#FFF) our family has grown accustomed to! As parents of two teenagers, ages 15 and 13, not to mention an 11 and 8 year old, sometimes we have to force the family fun, with less than eager participants. It becomes 'Extreme' when we load on the miles or level of difficulty, for us as parents that is. North Portland is quite a distance from our SE Portland hood, and the exact length of the 24-mile trek was not something we initially divulged to our children as they ventured out along the Springwater Corridor, wind at their backs and smiles o

There is a secret society to which I'm convinced moms of four children belong. We simply smile in understanding of our shared journey when we cross paths. Without a sister of my own, it warms my heart to feel accepted into this compassionate sisterhood without judgment, united knowing we are all somewhat crazy! The 'secret sisterhood spy craft' is tried and true and our circle is growing... Reminiscent of CIA spy craft, we use simple code word exchanges in passing, as if validating an asset's bona fides. Appearing dumfounded one of us cautiously queries "You have four children?" Immediately recognizing the glimmer of hope in the other mother's weary eyes, she enthusiastically affirms, "Yes, but no one has four kids!" The exchange is complete and just like that, another mother is accepted into the secret sisterhood. One such brief exchange happened last week while hanging with my children (#FFF) at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast and I welcom

Last week my husband and I spent a blissful week in Cancun for our 23rd wedding anniversary. It was time we prioritized our marriage and ourselves, besides our children needed a break from us as much as we needed time away from them! A true blessing to experience, we relished the time together at an adults-only all-inclusive resort, never discussing nor missing our children who were experiencing an all-inclusive 'stay-cation' with relatives. Quite frankly, I didn't want to see children, hear children or smell children our entire celebration and we laughed at the couples who phoned their children from the beach. Needless to say, a week following our return, full-on into the final week of school projects, 5th grade continuation, marching band parades, baseball games, and 2nd grade stomach flu, I scarcely recall the ocean waves lapping the shore or the peace I felt reading three novels without agenda. Today I sit here, kids momentarily out of school, as panic ensues and summer