Monday, December 31, 2012
When I began the Christmas series, “Light,” I promised to carry that theme into the New Year. This column is the opportunity to do just that.
It's been said that as parents, it is our job to work ourselves out of a job. Or to see our children to that place of adulthood where our job description is significantly and irreversibly altered. We do that by shining our parenting light into our adult world (as an example) and into our children's world (as a nurturer). I want to encourage you to continue to shine in the humble servant’s position that is parenthood. It is a job in which you may not get a lot of accolades, but shine anyway. Two years ago, I began writing for Patch. Though I had hundreds of publication credits to my name, this was something new: the discipline of weekly deadlines. Writing “The Growth Chart” grew me in completely unexpected ways. And it was good. It was …
Monday, December 24, 2012
I love it when the snow comes – it always magnifies Light.
This Christmas season has been unique for me. Though I’m not one to get caught up in the shopping frenzy, preferring instead the charm of homespun gifts and simple conveyances (like giving a goat!), this year, more than ever, I’ve stayed out of the stores. I did take a young friend shopping (she helped me choose for my kids; I helped her choose for her mom) and it was a night filled with the wonder of the giving-spirit of Christmas. An experience everyone should have. There is nothing wrong with having fun shopping. Yet as I shop, I’m almost always aware that if I spend too lavishly I will have less to share with others who are truly in need. This year, the concerns have been keenly present, as visible to me as the lights that have …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Teen's voice tells the story of an 'overcomer' ...
“Trinity” had been receiving unwelcomed “sext” messages. Her story has been difficult for me to write; I felt the “telling” carried an incredible weight. Certain details — the specific words that were said to her and the fact that she had experimented with cutting as a result, weighed on me. I didn’t know what to tell, what to leave out. I wondered: did I save Trinity’s story as the last in this series for a purpose, or did I somehow put it off, because it was difficult to deal with? I now see that the best way to cap off this series about Kids (and Adults) and Social Media is to hear from a teen, and a parent, in their own VOICES. The Interview: “The Growth Chart”: I’ve never understood the “cutting” thing. What makes someone do it? …
Monday, December 5, 2011
It was time to leave, but how could I?
Scanning the lush green horizon beyond the playground, I breathed in mountain air. How could a place captivate me like this? Or a people? In just one week? I considered my home. Our children are the fifth generation to live on our farm. We have family for neighbors, space to roam. Who gets to enjoy that kind of heritage? Ah. The children of the Dominican Republic. Maybe that’s why I fell in love. Families live simply: eating together, playing dominoes, talking. Most folks live all their lives in the village they were born in and have no desire to be elsewhere. I love my home. Why then, taking in the beauty of this vastly different place, did I feel that I could just stay? Perhaps it’s because I couldn’t go back. I would never be the …
Donna J. Noble
2:42 pm on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Thank you, Morgan. Keep up the good work! Your work means a great deal to our community. What did we ever do before Morgan Day and Patch? :) Let's do lunch soon. more ›