The Mommy Buffer
We cushion, protect and absorb little problems, giving kids time to think about the unstated rules at home before they misstep out in the world.
We cushion, protect and absorb little problems, giving kids time to think about the unstated rules at home before they misstep out in the world.
When I was a kid, I used to watch movies with my cousin Ross. One evening, circa 1990, while sitting on the floor watching the old Batman movie starring Michael Keaton, he decided he’d had enough of me. “Quit asking questions!” he cried. “We’re watching the same movie! I don’t know why all these things…
When I was a child, I believed my father was fluent in Spanish. His ability to count from one to ten without pause was all the evidence I needed. It wasn’t until middle school that I realized his romance language skills are basically nonexistent. By then, a number of other paternal fantasies had also been…
My parents recently came down with serious colds. I found myself at the grocery store late in the evening buying them a round of feel-better-soon foods: a roasted chicken, orange juice, whole fruit, Gatorade and a quart of soup. As I filled the cart, I started thinking about how often my mother had taken care…