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Mama in the Middle

Retired Columns

From “Life in the Sandwich” to “Special Needs Mama” to “Zen and the Art of Child Maintenance”—they’re all here for you to explore.

Inclement Weather

Spring Break has taken a strange and gloomy turn this year. Already our plans lacked that shimmering promise spring vacation can hold; we weren’t going anywhere, and Patrick had to…

Mama in the Middle | May 2006 | By Sybil Lockhart


Grains of Sand

At 11 a.m., the playground is already half full of youngsters, my barefoot and sleeveless Cleo among them. She mucks about in the sand while her big sister Zoë sits…

Mama in the Middle | March 2006 | By Sybil Lockhart


Skin

“I can’t wear this.” I stare at the pretty new pink and black gymnastics suit eight-year-old Zoë is holding, take a breath, and silently count to five. “I need sleeves.…

Mama in the Middle | January 2006 | By Sybil Lockhart


Fall Mind

“Earthquake weather,” says an elderly woman on the bus, leaning forward to speak to the driver. Four-year-old Cleo and I have just dropped my 20-year-old Honda Civic at Art’s Automotive,…

Mama in the Middle | November 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


Realty vs. Reality

We rent. Most of our friends own. And sometimes I think one quarter of my brain power is dedicated to agonizing over whether, when, or how to buy a house.…

Mama in the Middle | September 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


Siblings

It’s 6 a.m., and the fog is just lifting as I step into my Berkeley back garden. I have one hour to myself before the kids get up. Whenever I’m…

Mama in the Middle | July 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


Old Dog

Last week, four-year-old Cleo and I encountered three large mutts outside our neighborhood café. As I stood sipping my latte and chatting with their person, Cleo respectfully held out her…

Mama in the Middle | May 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


My God

“Mama, can you tell me about God?” This has been coming up lately. Some of Zoë’s second-grade classmates go to Sunday school. She’s been wondering what it’s all about. “It’s…

Mama in the Middle | March 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


Telling Stories

I’m a good mom. People tell me so, and I think it’s true. I’m not perfect, but I love my girls. As I pile them into the car in their…

Mama in the Middle | January 2005 | By Sybil Lockhart


Extended Family

After Ma died, I held an estate sale. I stood in the front yard of the house I had grown up in and watched as strangers carried the Lockharts away,…

Mama in the Middle | December 2004 | By Sybil Lockhart


Circle Time

Have you ever stepped on an old Cheerio? Sometimes, after you crush it, it still looks like a Cheerio. It still has its perfect little round Cheerio shape. But if…

Mama in the Middle | October 2004 | By Sybil Lockhart


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