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The Little Grape: November 2014

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Tuesday, November 25, 2014. Dinner with the Family: Barolo, Opera, Pasta and Arranged Marriage. My sister-in-law, flailing baby on her hip, five heaping plates of food balanced on her right arm (in a move that could secure her employment in almost any restaurant in the world) agreed with Dad, and dared me with her eyes to jump in with some feminist objection. Let's be clear: Dad was not. The kind who want noth...

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The Little Grape: The Red Shirting Question Resurfaces

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Monday, May 18, 2015. The Red Shirting Question Resurfaces. Here were are again, like our own family's version of Groundhog Day. The end of the academic year looms and we are faced once again with the breaking news that the Grape is the youngest kid in his class. His teachers probe our opinions carefully, as if fishing for a splinter with a needle. The Grape likes the "girl" games: elaborate, often drawn out, ...

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The Little Grape: March 2015

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Friday, March 27, 2015. Put a Woman on It. The campaign to boot late President Andrew Jackson. From his position of honor on the twenty-dollar-bill is rightly starting to gain traction. It's high time we banished that brute's likeness, and replaced it with a portrait of an American woman. I think the honor should go to Emma Lazarus. Shocking, I know. But hear me out. First, I admit I could be very easily.

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The Little Grape: May 2015

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Monday, May 18, 2015. The Red Shirting Question Resurfaces. Here were are again, like our own family's version of Groundhog Day. The end of the academic year looms and we are faced once again with the breaking news that the Grape is the youngest kid in his class. His teachers probe our opinions carefully, as if fishing for a splinter with a needle. The Grape likes the "girl" games: elaborate, often drawn out, ...

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The Little Grape: The Whys of Summer Camp

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Wednesday, August 12, 2015. The Whys of Summer Camp. Mama guilt drove me to do it. As a kid, I spent my early summers outdoors. We were either on the beach in Rhode Island, or in the woods behind our house, or at my mother's family's cabin, near Lake Saimaa in Finland. We foraged for berries and mushrooms, and out grandfather set traps for lake fish, because that's what good Finns do in the summer. Except it w...

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The Little Grape: June 2015

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Saturday, June 6, 2015. I Got Pantsed at the Grocery Store. The Kindergarten teachers, like the preschool teachers before them, warned me this would happen. As the the school year draws to a close, the kids go "a bit berserk.". The roiling emotions, I understand, may be coupled with whackadoo, out of character behaviors. Yesterday, the Grape pantsed. The cashier politely averted her eyes. If the child is to ch...

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The Little Grape: September 2014

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Saturday, September 13, 2014. We need to talk," R. said to me upon his arrival home from work last night. He swallowed hard, heaved a put upon sigh. "We need to figure out a way to get through the morning shuffle without behaving like we belong on the Jerry Springer show.". I'm embarrassed to see the neighbors," he said. "Maybe we should go around and apologize.". Of course his complaint has merit. The Grape i...

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The Little Grape: The Most Dreaded Subject Line for Parents of Young Children

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Thursday, June 4, 2015. The Most Dreaded Subject Line for Parents of Young Children. No email subject line strikes fear in the hearts of parents of young children quite like "Head Lice.". These emails invariably arrive late in the day—maddening in timing, ambiguity, and precision all at once. Also it's impossible to read one without feeling itchy. Dear Kindergarten Parents,. Have a great evening! It was five p...

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The Little Grape: February 2015

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Observations on urban motherhood, current events. And anything else that sparks my imagination. Monday, February 23, 2015. Back when I lived in DC, I used to marvel that a dusting of powder would create gridlock worthy of a National Guard call up. I'm ready to cry uncle. Because in Boston, there is only The Snow. The Snow has rendered our already dour winter population cranky. Local commutes rival work days in length, and our parking wars make shameful international news. The Grape is stir crazy. He ...