Planting Dandelions

Just finished another book - 'Planting Dandelions' by Kyran Pittman. Her sub-title is 'Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life'. It was a lot of fun - a delightful read for a mum. It's a memoir - the story of a woman who trades in a somewhat reckless, wild chapter of her life for marriage and motherhood(sound familiar?) She talks a lot about her path to moving abroad and raising kids in America when she's from Canada herself (again, sound familiar?) I felt like I could've written the exact same words in some parts. 

There's a chapter on everything - partnership with a husband, financial struggles, parenting milestones, in-laws, getting older, friendships. It's both a laugh and a cry. And while the whole thing is a huge celebration of family life, one of my favourite parts is where she says that on some mornings, as she opens her front door to grab the newspaper, still in pajamas, she's pretty close to just walking straight on down that front path, to the street, and away. Just leave husband, kids and home and waltz right off.

In quote: "You can love your husband and children with every breath in your body and still feel restless and detached sometimes. You can be a good mother and have daydreams of running, or simply walking, away. It's the ones who can't accept this paradox who have the most to fear"

And, to end the post on a lighter note, and since the book was very comical too, my other favourite quote. While discussing kids birthday parties at Chuck-E-Cheese: "Nothing says safe, clean and child-friendly like a snaggle-tooth rodent wearing a baseball cap gang-style". Ha! Exactly how I feel about that place!

Pick up this book - you'll finish it in a weekend and you'll enjoy it along the way.