The other day Molly was visiting her mother and mentioned she had some news. "You're pregnant!" her mom burst out. It wasn't anything like that, but that's how people think. Have one child, soon you'll have another.

In fact, Molly and I have been talking about whether we in any conceivable way might want to, you know, conceive again. These discussions began haphazardly. Molly was tired of taking the pill. What did I think about getting a vasectomy? she inquired.… Read More

OK, I admit it, Molly and I are bookaholics. What can you expect? We were both English majors in college, both English teachers later on (she still is one), and I'm a writer to boot. And now here's Larkin, toddler bibliophile. From the start she was entranced — a two-month-old whose wailing magically ceased whenever she stared up at the bookshelf in the TV room. Two-plus years later, we've read her how many books? Well, at least ten a day,… Read More

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… 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