Category: Emerson

daughters, Emerson, motherhood

When Saturday Night Is Enough

My daughter, Emerson, graduated from 5th grade last Friday. It was a tender, joyful ceremony, as these things are, with applause for every child and a surprisingly well-choreographed group performance of (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing. There was a slide show that condensed the past 7 years into just a couple of minutes — round-cheeked preschoolers stretching into 11-year-olds as we watched (which is just how it feels in … Continue reading When Saturday Night Is Enough

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning7 Comments
Emerson, Let's talk about mythology, Let's talk about religion

Heart of the Matter

The night before Valentine’s Day was going to be celebrated at my daughter’s school, I received the following text from my husband, Jonathan: Emmy bought God cards. Won’t give them up. Crying. Help. To translate our married shorthand, he was telling me that our 9-year-old, Emerson, had somehow selected religious Valentine’s Day cards, and now that he had discovered the fact he was trying to explain … Continue reading Heart of the Matter

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning14 Comments
Emerson, Sometimes I give good advice

It’s Called FaceTime for a Reason

This summer, my then 8-year-old daughter, Emerson, experienced two important rites of passage. First, she became the object of a young man’s affection. This boy, whom we’ll call DG, had it bad for my moppet. So bad, in fact, that he asked if she had email, and told her that if she did NOT have email he’d make an email for her, so they could write … Continue reading It’s Called FaceTime for a Reason

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning14 Comments
Emerson, Lady Business, Married people things, want to hear a story?

Unexpectedly Expecting

About two years ago I performed at The Jukebox, a storytelling/karaoke series run by my good friends Steve Jacobs, Margaret Lyons, and Steve Heisler. The topic of the evening was parenthood, and while the story I told isn’t the kind of thing Hallmark cards are made of, it is a love letter to my daughter, and so I thought I’d share it today. Happy Mother’s Day, … Continue reading Unexpectedly Expecting

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning8 Comments
Emerson

Some Thoughts on Father’s Day, and Spelling Tests

My husband, Jonathan, and I joke that our 7-year-old daughter, Emerson, is me in a him package. In so many ways, it’s true. She’s inherited all of his gorgeousness — the tall, lean, muscular body type, the huge hazel eyes that are mostly green, the creamy skin that turns bronze at the slightest lick of sun, the distractingly full mouth (honestly, I live with such … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Father’s Day, and Spelling Tests

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning7 Comments
Emerson, Let's talk about poetry, want to hear a story?

A Petunia By Any Other Name

I don’t have a nickname (unless you count “Stef,” which I do not). I’ve been trying to make “Scully” happen for years now. Alas, just like “fetch,” it’s not going to happen. But when I was very small, I was my father’s Sweet Petunia. And it suited me then, all chubby cheeks and giggles. I’m pretty open about the fact that my relationship with him … Continue reading A Petunia By Any Other Name

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning1 Comment
Emerson

We Waddle But We Don’t Fall Down

I unwittingly exposed Emmy, and by extension Jon and myself, to the existential nightmare that is Happy Feet. My intentions were good, I swear it. One cold Saturday morning earlier this year I took Emmy to be tested for the NYC Department of Education Gifted and Talented program (itself a gnawing abyss of parental self-recrimination), and after her test we went out for donuts and … Continue reading We Waddle But We Don’t Fall Down

Unknown's avatarStefanie Gunning1 Comment