The Monthly Roundup from The Workspace for Children
thoughts on raising three teens / playful interiors / what I'm reading, watching, and loving / plus: two things I did when they were little that are paying off now
It’s been a weird summer so far. A good one, but a weird one. And things are about to shift. I’m writing to you from my front porch, two tired dogs panting at my feet, the breeze off the ocean and a perfectly marinated diet coke sizzling over ice in my favorite striped ceramic cup.
My youngest has been away at camp for almost a month. I miss her dearly, and, TBH, I’ve really enjoyed a quiet few weeks. I’ve been working a ton. Writing for my Substack community, creating content for my Instagram community, and working on some side projects around the house.
My “big kids” are around, but not really around, if you know what I mean…
My oldest, 18, a D1 long distance runner, pilot and mountain bike enthusiast has been gone more than he’s been here since his return from Purdue in June. He works as a bike mechanic at our local bike shop, and has since he was 14. He’s been off visiting his college teammates, in Europe with his high school buddies, and then his girlfriend visited us over the fourth of July.
He’s completely locked into running, and trains harder and more consistently than anything I have ever done in my life. He doesn’t say much about any of it, but the other night, when it was dumping buckets of rain, I heard his stampede of footsteps down the stairs, and peeked out to see him lacing up his sneakers for a long training run. There was no complaining, no fanfare around it, just the quiet determination of a kid who is willing to work.
My middle, 16, is a lifeguard at a yacht club this summer and she is learning some pretty valuable lessons about the service industry. She has me cackling with her hilarious stories, but also welling up with pride, because I know how seriously she takes this opportunity.
She’s been working more than not, getting ready for her upcoming driver’s test, and training for her upcoming Cross Country season. And… here comes Junior Year. I am a little nervous if I am honest. I feel like I barely get to see her, but when I do, those short stretches when we take the dogs to the beach or making a quick Starbucks run, feel like everything important condensed into a few precious moments. I want to bottle her right now. She’s on the cusp of something. I’m not sure what, but I can feel it.
My youngest comes home from camp on Wednesday. She will be verrrry dirty, with colossal bug bites and bags under her eyes that tell me she’s been giggling and whispering well into the night with her bunkmates. Camp is her favorite thing in the world, and I can’t wait to witness her face-splitting grin as she tells countless (and endless) stories about camp when she gets home.
She will be starting a new school this fall, and it’s going to be a big transition for all of us. There are lots of logistics involved and a few big changes. She’s going into seventh grade and her friends are the most important thing in her world right now. I am gearing up to keep myself as sturdy as I can be for her as she works through this. I’m excited for her. This is going to be one of those short term pain for long term gain kinda things…
I know everyone says the teen years are hard, and sometimes they are, but no one talks enough about the immeasurable pride and awe we feel as parents, to see our once-little kids, now big kids, grow into themselves.
And the moments where you suddenly realize, “Woah. We’ve raised entire people!! And while of course we love them, we also really like them.” It’s special. And for those of you planted firmly in the little kid years right now, I hope you know, you have a lot to look forward to.
And because I know some of you will ask what we did back then, I’m sharing the two things I did when they were little that are paying off most now. It’s at the bottom of this post for paid subscribers.
What I am Reading/ Watching/ Listening To
My summer “reading” slowed a little bit this month. I put reading in quotes because I am listening to audiobooks so I can vacuum, fold laundry, walk the dog, etc. And because my eyes are getting so bad, actual reading feels like too much.
Valley of the Moms — I finished this one last month and it was gooood. A suburban mom snaps over a school dance her kid can’t go to, fires one email at the PTO president, and blows up her whole town. A year later she’s dead in the frozen Ipswich River, and her husband is the one the cops are watching. Big Little Lies vibes, set an hour from my house, I could not put this down.
The new Five Star Weekend series on Peacock with Jennifer Garner, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny was so cute. I loved the book last summer, and I thought they did a great job with the TV adaptation.
Next up, I am planning to read Jo Piazza’s Parisian Heist. Have you read it yet? LMK
Home Updates
It’s been two years and a few months since we moved back into our new old house, and in case you are new here, let me catch you up.
My husband grew up here in Marblehead, in the house we live in now. It’s about a block from the beach, and when my kids were small, I brought them from NJ where we lived, for nine weeks every summer, for ten years. My in-laws have since passed away, and when Dave and I decided to relocate to MHD, we did some extensive renovations to his old home.
While it looks different, and the layout has changed quite a bit, we can still feel Bobbie and Papa here. Last week, in the stillness of the very early morning on my front porch, I could have sworn I heard Papa (Dave’s dad) whisper the phrase he said every morning we spent up here with him: “Ahhhh, Lizzie… It’s another beautiful day in Marblehead.” We miss him. He never took a beautiful day for granted. It would have been his 82nd birthday yesterday.
Woah, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there. Since the renovations a few years ago, I’ve been slowly decorating our home in a style, that I have now learned is called, Playful Maximalism.
One of my goals while Sloane was gone was to decorate the big blank wall in our kitchen. Once I finally got started on that, it gave me the dopamine hit I needed to also hang a few other things around the house.
I bought these felt panels and put them up on the lower half of the kitchen wall to act as a pin board/ living gallery wall. Frames felt too final for me, so I just tacked up some art and life stuff on the panels and it works… for now.
I added this really cute clock to another wall in the kitchen. I didn’t put batteries in it or set it tho, I just like the eyeballs.
And this blanket! I was walking around town with Nate, shopping for a birthday gift for his girlfriend when I saw it. It was an immediate yes, you are coming home with me.
I looked up the brand online and it turned out to be an AAPI woman-owned business aimed at reducing waste. I am linking their shop here. I want it all.
Our old couch cushions on the front porch were kinda gross, so I went ahead and ordered these. They are so happy, I love them! I added a few old pillows I had packed away from our old house, and they tied it together with the outdoor rug. Now my front porch is my favorite “room” in the house.
1. new coffee table toy- we love her 2. Pura Scent Diffuser- my house smells like hotel. I use White Tea No. 1 3. The happiest outdoor couch cushions on the block 4.eye ball clock 5. outdoor rug 6. ceramic cup 7. felt wall panels 8. Parisian Heist 9. The Smore is the newest product from Nugget.
Back to School
It pains me to bring this up, but I am working behind the scenes on content to support you through the back to school season. I want to hear from you.
How old are your kids?
What kind of things are you excited about/ worried about/ could use my support with?
Please help me help you!
Below for paid subscribers: the two things I did when my kids were little that are paying off now that they’re teens, including the one time I’m glad I broke my own rule.
