All There Is To It

Math Homework Anonymous

If you remember the trauma of elementary-level homework from your own childhood, this may not slap you silly quite like it does me. I was lucky; when I was in grade school, the big buzz word was "values clarification." Math, be damned. Now, I have a kid who's expected to actually add, subtract, multiply, and divide, never mind that whole percentage business. Who knew?!

From Claudine Jalajas, in her perfectly blog-length yet hitting-home style... Btw, CJ, we'll be there tonight, beating on the door of your LI Showroom Home. Bottles in hand.

Life As A Super Mom: I Hate Math Homework Anonymous

Being Luc's Mom: Remembering the Moments

by Claudine M. Jalajas

I moved around a lot when I was a kid so I never really was the type of person that became attached to things or places. I recently became overwhelmed with lots of stuff that had accumulated in our home and decided to try my luck at the popular website "ebay." I couldn't believe how quickly things were selling and how easy it was. I was doing my two favorite things: getting rid of clutter and making money. I soon took my digital camera and headed out to the garage (adding to my husband's anxiety about my latest obsession).

I looked around the garage and found lots of baby stuff sitting around and thought that I should start there--I picked the crib to go first. I listed it on ebay and sure enough it started getting action right away. It was exciting.

I remember the day my husband and I brought the crib home and we sat on the floor of the empty, soon to be Luc's room, and laughed while David tried to put the crib together. I remember the first night I figured out that Luc preferred to be swaddled when put to bed at night. I remember noticing that he always had that little bunny in his arms while he slept. I remember when he first learned to roll over and I'd have to go in there and pull his little arm out from under his fat little belly. I remember the first time I walked into his room and he was standing up in his crib. I screamed, "Luc! You're standing!" He dropped to his knees and cried, startled by my outburst. I remember the time he stuck his very thick thighs through the legs of the crib and got stuck there (we bought a toddler bed the next day).

On Saturday night I went to a friend's house for dinner. When I got home, I knew the crib auction would be over so I went upstairs to check and see what the final selling price had been. I saw the words "Auction Ended" next to my crib and saw the amount. I was surprised when I found my eyes starting to burn and my stomach tighten. Why was I getting sad about selling something that had been sitting in the garage for over a year? It's just a thing for pete's sake!

I checked my email and saw the buyer had sent me an email. The email said, "Glenn and I just got home, and we ran to the computer to see if we were outbid on the crib, and it looks as though we are the winners! I'm so excited, I can't stand myself! I will email you pictures of it when I have the room all ready, and the crib all set up. I'd really like for you to see it that way, so you can see how much I wanted it." I read the email and smiled. It's not just a "thing." It was Luc's crib. And now it's going to be at someone else's house. A person that was just like me: excited about their new baby coming. They'll sit in their new baby's room and laugh when they try and put it together. They'll have good memories just like we had. Somehow, it makes giving the crib up a little easier.

©2001 Copyright Claudine M. Jalajas. 

Being Luc's Mom

You're savvy, mature, and already an expert in the day-to-dayness and bigger projects of your existence. Then, along comes the kid.

Can one person really change another's life so much? A few years ago, then-new-mom Claudine Jalajas offered her answer to that question in a column on Being Luc's Mom.

Claudine holds her MFA in Writing from Southampton College of Long Island University. Her nonfiction, fiction, and essays have been
published with CPAmerica International, Hybrid Mom Magazine,
Motherwords, and literary magazines Proteus (LIU Southampton) and The Southampton Review (Stony Brook University Southampton Literary Review), The East Hampton Star as well as several online publications.