Category: Slice 'o Life

That Time My Turkey Platter Made Me Cry

We hosted Thanksgiving for 22 last week.  It was lovely and joyous and, yes, a wee bit frantic.  I didn’t get out of my pajamas on Friday.  It is a gift to be able to host so many people you love in your home, serve them food, and celebrate family, but I am slow on... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
November 28, 2017 at 11:23 am • 

Finding Everything I Need in My Sock Drawer: A Story About Seeing the Moments That Sustain Us

It happened this morning.  I was at the sink doing dishes, my older son was being too attentive to one screen or another and my younger son was whining at me, asking for help making puppets.  He wanted to make puppets.  Now.  He needed help, of course, but couldn’t he see me busy at the... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
November 18, 2017 at 11:29 am • 

Rotted Teeth

I went to an oral surgeon this week to atone for my dental sins.  After thirteen years of neglect, part of the price I paid for these dental sins was the extraction of three rotted teeth. In 2004, the last year in which I saw a dentist, just a few months after getting my first... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
September 22, 2017 at 12:16 pm • 
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Reading this Stranger's Obituary Will Make Your Day

Janet Tuck was born in in Aurora, Illinois in December 1931.  She died two weeks ago, surrounded by family, in North Carolina.  I don’t know Janet or any of her family, but came across her obituary this morning while I was scrolling through Facebook.  A friend, also unknown to Janet or her family, had posted... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
April 30, 2017 at 1:52 pm • 

8 Life Lessons From My Son's Sensei That I Could Use Myself

I’ve been meaning to write about the benefits of my older boy taking karate lessons for a few months now.  It was going to be a sweet little post about how young kids benefit from the discipline that is encouraged at a dojo. As a mom in this era of “respectful parenting,” where empathy is... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
April 18, 2017 at 10:21 am • 

New Mattress, New Sheets, New Life!

My husband and I have been sharing a bed for twenty years, give or take a month or two.  TWENTY YEARS, PEOPLE.  That’s a long time to do anything.  For all of those twenty years we have been sleeping on a futon pad on the futon platform left over from my husband’s freewheeling bachelor days.... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
April 3, 2017 at 2:56 pm • 
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Have You Ever Met a Refugee?

This morning I had the opportunity to drive three little girls to their dance lessons.  They happened to be Syrian refugees who live in my neighborhood. Two of the girls are sisters and while we waited for the third girl to get to the car, they told me their stories, totally unsolicited, and with joy... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
March 5, 2017 at 9:09 pm • 

Sleep Apnea, a Bedtime Story

It’s after 9PM and I am awake.  A few months ago, this would have been highly unlikely.  A few months ago, I was living with untreated sleep apnea and, for lack of a better term, was not unlike a zombie.  Settle in for a sleepy bedtime story, my friends. Once upon a time, my husband... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
February 24, 2017 at 10:04 pm • 

Thank you, Garbage Man

I was driving to get my kiddo from school the other week and saw the garbage man pictured below, literally hanging out.  So many days later, and he is still in my thoughts. I trailed the truck for a mile or so, the man hanging on to the side of the truck, watching the Chicago... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
January 31, 2017 at 8:51 pm • 
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My 2017 Facebook Resolution

January is right around the corner and with that comes resolutions. Typically, I am not one to make or publicize resolutions.  I don’t ever really think too much about them.  But this year feels differently to me.  I’m feeling the need to shake things up, my friends, because what has worked in the past doesn’t... Read more »
By Mary Tyler Mom,
December 9, 2016 at 12:08 pm •