Author Archives: Katie Bailey

An 18-inch, lighted palm tree has spent years tucked away in my basement. It is similar in appearance to an artificial Christmas tree. A tan strand of tiny white lights winds upward around its trunk and then weaves through the branches. The tree has almost made its way to my local Buy Nothing site onContinue reading “We Wait”

My younger son attended his first Music Together class when he was 3 weeks old. His earliest sessions only required that I peer over at him every few minutes to ensure that he remained asleep in the infant carseat. Soon he transitioned to being worn in a carrier as I tried my best to balanceContinue reading “The Water is Wide”

“Mama, look! Fred’s back!” I glanced out the window above the kitchen sink to see the bright red feathers of a cardinal sifting through the feeder, a pile of discarded sunflower seed shells by his feet. His mate, Ginger, was on the ground searching for insects nearby. That suction cup window feeder is one ofContinue reading “A Place to Return To”

A few weeks ago my two boys played with their cousins for the first time in almost 4 months. My sons had not played with any kids aside from each other since the day they left PreK and 1st grade back in March. They were delighted. The kids chased and caught moths, balanced on riverContinue reading “It’s Different, But It’s Ok”

Preface: I debated writing this. I debated posting this. It feels potentially awkward and off the mark. I wrote it anyway. I posted it anyway. I suspect at least a handful of my white, 30-something-with-kids friends can relate, and so it feels worth sharing. At this point, I think saying something wrong with good intentionsContinue reading “Seeing Superman”

The boys practiced roasting their ideal marshmallows (“Perfectly golden brown!” and “Supah bwack and cwispy!”) as the 80’s playlist shifted to the next song. I half-listened over their excited chatter while my husband sang along, intermittently adding sticks to the fire. “…I need you so, Take! These broken wings!” He glanced over at me. “MaybeContinue reading “Happy Freedom”

*This was originally posted to my Facebook page on March 23, 2020. Some edits have been made from its original post, and it is shared with Donna’s gracious permission. Sixteen years ago, perhaps exactly to this week, I entered Donna Rosso’s integrated preschool classroom to complete the second portion of my student teaching practicum experience.Continue reading “White Sterilite Bins”

One of my students used to bring a homemade, chocolate chip cookie to school in his lunch box every day. A shy, happy smile would spread across his face whenever anyone asked if his mom had made his cookies. She had. He LOVED his mom. And everyday at lunchtime when he pulled that chocolate chipContinue reading “Love You, Miss You, See You Soon”

On Easter morning, my husband carefully removed a cardboard box from the mailbox. He looked at me, eyes wide. “It says, ‘Open Immediately’,” he stated. My heart sank. The caterpillars. We realized while the boys were busy hunting down eggs in the yard that we hadn’t checked the mail the day before. The caterpillars weContinue reading “Casts and Caterpillars”

*This was originally written as a Facebook post on 3/14/20. I’ve made slight edits and wanted to share it in this space as well. “Mama, can we do Grammie words?” my seven-year-old son asked as I pulled down the chain on his bedside lamp on Wednesday night. “Not tonight. Remind me tomorrow.” And he didContinue reading “Grammie Words”