The end of summer drew near, and it was time for a tiny little girl to put away her tiny little girl things. The bright blue day came for Larkin — after much fear and trembling — to say goodbye to Binky.

We all had been preparing for a long time. It began a year ago with a cute book called Binky, in which a diaper-wearing infant looks everywhere for his lost pacifier, finally finding it "in my crib, just where I like it best." Next came two other books, Bye-Bye Binky and Branli Says Bye-Bye to Binky — gentle valedictories whose respective protagonists, Nori and Branli, say tearful goodbyes, only to discover that life post-pacifier indeed does go on.

But Larkin wasn't in any hurry. At night she insisted on having not only a binky in her mouth, but two or three backups in the crib, at the ready. Her extensive collection occupied a bowl on the kitchen counter, where… Read More

A year ago, at a tag sale, we bought Larkin a pair of sneakers. They were bold turquoise and brand-new, and at $3, I couldn't say no. The only problem was the size — size 8, way too big for Larkin, then just a year and a half old. "They're enormous!" Molly laughed. I said we could put them aside; someday they'd fit.

Well, that day is … Read More

I wrote last time about Larkin's clothes, imagining her as a 12-year-old and what she might wear. This got me onto the much larger topic of thinking about the future generally.

I've never been very good at it.

To me, the future has always been the least engaging panel in time's triptych. The past, I can cherish and scrutinize and preserve. The present I can enjoy. But the future is a blank. I've always marveled at people who… Read More

Remember the old saying, Clothes make the man? If that's true, I'm not much of a man. My morning work commute takes me all of twenty feet from bedroom to office, and I don't dress up for it. Sometimes pajama bottoms and a tee shirt are enough.

Larkin, on the other hand, has suddenly developed an eye for fashion. This morning, when it came time to get dressed, she decided to practice civil disobedience, throwing herself on the floor and stretching… Read More

I found myself the other day — I mean my self, the person who has gotten a little bit lost since Larkin was born.

I was going through the 3 feet high stack of folders in the corner of my office. This nightmare pile contains things I've been intending to sort out and file since before Larkin was born, always saying "I'll get to it." But I never do. Now I needed to find car documents. A year and a half… Read More

Here it comes, Father's Day, and as a new dad I'm wondering just one thing: Um, when exactly is it again?

You might think I'd have marked the date with a big calendar star. But somehow I've never taken Father's Day seriously. When I was a kid, Mother's Day was a major event in our family. My sisters and I served our mom lavish breakfasts in bed, we did our chores without the usual groaning and stalling: it was a highly… Read More