Mom Memories

Mom Memories: Introducing me to one of my great loves

I heard a story from my mom the other day that I’d never heard before, and it connected a lot of dots for me in terms of how I came to love skiing. Turns out, my mom planted the seed that made our family’s love of skiing blossom. The story went like this…When my parents were very first married, it was my mom who decided she and my dad would learn to ski, having both grown up in Ohio, skiing was not nearly as accessible as it is today for my kids growing up in Colorado. So, as the story went, my mom said she went out and bought some really expensive boots for my dad, a really expensive jacket, really expensive pants, and really expensive bindings, and for skis, she bought  some El cheepos out of a barrel of random mismatched skis, because she had been told to invest in boots and everyt...

A Favorite Mom Memory: The Picnic Tablecloth

A picnic tablecloth is such a simple thing but it can dress up any picnic lunch. We took a lot of road trips when I was growing up. We would drive up the coast of California to visit family. Every few years, we would move across country. During those road trips, we always stopped at a rest stop for lunch. Our lunches didn’t consist of drive-thru hamburgers but it would instead be a homemade meal packed in a bright blue cooler on wheels. We would pull into the rest stop and stake out our picnic table. As my mom set out our lunch, my sister and I would play tag and run off the energy that children produce when stuck in a car for five hours. We would explore the information on the signs and then return out of breath to find a feast waiting for us on a brightly-colored picnic tablecloth. The f...

Mom Memories: Motherhood freakin hurts!

Motherhood hurts. Bigger than a germ but smaller than a breadbox, this potential killer probably lurks under your couch, too.

Mom Memories: The Mom Behind the Mom I Am

I love my Mom's quiet strength. I remember vividly the day I found out we were infertile. She did not probe, suggest, plan, solve, push, advise. She sat on the grass with me that summer day and listened.

Mom Memories: “The Feeling” of Motherhood

Some days it still doesn’t seem real because some days, it seems too good to be true. Me. A mom. My husband and I always knew we wanted to have kids. Even before we were married we would talk about our imaginary family and we even had names picked out for our imaginary kids. Staying up late at night, heads on our pillows, staring at one another just dreaming, laughing, hoping. We were married for 4 years before we felt ready to turn those dreams into a reality. It took us a little over a year before becoming pregnant. That was a very long year. That “time of the month” became a horrible reminder we weren’t having a baby and every month it was harder and harder. Until one day…

Mom Memories: The Santa Reveal & End of an Imaginary Era

Mother’s Day is almost upon us and for the next couple of weeks, Mile High Mamas will be dedicated to all-things moms–from your favorite Mom Memories to some of your great stories about Becoming Mothers from last year. I’ve always believed it’s important to instill magic in my kids’ childhood and my husband and I have played along with the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa et al. We’ve been careful to never put too much credence into them but my kids’ overactive imaginations have taken care of that. For Christmas, we’ve kept the Santa presents to a minimum and he only brings them a couple of their requested gifts and stuffs their stockings. Mostly because I want the credit to go to me, not some plump dude sporting fur. Months ago, my 8-year-ol...