Friday, July 13, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about making room.
”There’s always room for one more.” - Author unknown When a holiday falls in the middle of the week like Independence Day did this year, it’s hard to decide when to have that backyard cookout. There is so much going on locally; the arts festival, the harbor illumination, fireworks, historical reenactments. And it’s a big vacation week. So many people I knew were juggling family visits, fireworks, and festivals and it gets to be a lot of work. I am never comfortable hosting parties and such, it just doesn’t come naturally to me. I was lucky that I got invited to a cookout at a friend’s home. She was also entertaining out of town family, but there was room for my brood too. “Always room for one more” are words she lives by, not just on …
Friday, July 6, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim weighs in about keeping a house pretty.
“Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.” - Charles M. Schultz I think if someone who did not know me were to look at the décor in my house (and I use the word décor in the loosest possible way) they would probably surmise that I am a fan of children’s drawings, Post-it notes, dead plants and refrigerator magnets. I also like to throw around a few Lego creations here and there for a touch of whimsy. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to pull together a theme for any room in my house. I have gotten way better at this decorating gig in the last few years however. My oldest child moved out and the youngers are not so young anymore. When I had all three under the age of twelve I had …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about Boy Scouts, ballet and beauty camp.
“A lot of parents pack up their troubles and send them off to summer camp.” - Raymond Duncan While children love this time of year because it brings the last days of school, no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks, it also brings something for parents. The camp bus. With my oldest, the first day I packed him off on the school bus for kindergarten, I was a weeping mess. At the end of that year, I signed him up for summer camp and it was a whole different story. It’s possible that I walked back from the first day of camp drop off singing “Ding, dong, Andy’s gone!” Yes, I was that mother, happily turning over my first born to days filled with gimp, archery and wildlife. But camp has changed even in the short time since …
Friday, June 22, 2012
Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about moms, movie stars and mechanics
“All work is honorable.” - Colin Powell I heard this quote from a friend of mine this week and it called to mind discussions I’ve had about just what constitutes work. And is there honor in everything that we work at? My first paying job other than babysitting was at a fast food restaurant when I was 15. I wore a bad polyester uniform, ugly shoes and yes, I did have to ask “do you want fries with that?” I learned some important lessons that summer, not the least of which was that while wearing a paper hat and flipping burgers is an honest day’s work, it is hard to feel honorable when the rest of your friends are on the beach. If you are a nanny or a licensed childcare provider you have a profession. If you clean houses you work. But if you…
Friday, June 8, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about competition, congratulations and keeping score.
“Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you.” - Irving Berlin Because it’s graduation season, there are an awful lot of awards going around. I am always so happy for my friends and family members when they achieve something. A friend’s daughter graduated from high school this weekend. She did well, earned awards and recognition and yes, her family was proud. But they were also happy for their daughter’s friends and classmates. They were celebrating their daughter, not comparing her to anyone else. Parents don’t have to keep quiet when their children do well. I remember when my oldest won a writing contest; I was practically stopping strangers on the street to tell them. I don’t think as a parent you should have…
Friday, June 1, 2012
Marblehead Patch Columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about smiles, snot and snuggling.
“I can't think why mothers love them. All babies do is leak at both ends.” - Douglas Feaver I have to agree. Like any mother I have had those moments when you look at your kid and say “what was I thinking?” For me it was always late at night when they wouldn’t sleep and instead were attempting to make themselves heard. I heard them, and I bet half the neighborhood did too. Not for nothing, it’s not age that makes you hard of hearing. It’s having an infant attempt to break the sound barrier right next to your head. Before having children I had a life, an interesting, active life. I went out without seventy pounds of equipment. I slept late, I ate food that wasn’t served on a Teletubbies plate and drank from cups that did not have sippy …
Friday, May 25, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about pests, a patio and the prayers of a mantis.
“Life is hard for insects. And don't think mice are having any fun either.” - Woody Allen I have no sympathy for bugs, or mice or squirrels or any of the other creatures that spring brings. It’s this time of year, when the weather gets nice that I remember why I hate nature. The windows are open and in fly the bugs. My friends with cats tell me that they get a lot more animal “gifts” on the doorstep at this time of year. And the squirrels. They are the worst. It’s personal with them and me; I think they have a vendetta against me. I didn’t grow up in the city; I know there are all kinds of wildlife in the suburbs. But why do they seem to pick my house for their hang out? I think it’s possible that we are the summer retreat for two …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about words, wisdom and watching what we say.
“Words, too, have genuine substance - mass and weight and specific gravity.” - Tim O'Brien, Tomcat in Love I grew up on words that had genuine substance. Not big, long, SAT words, but rather words and phrases that had very specific meanings and connotations but only within my own family. Much of what got said around my house were things no one else would get. Or so I thought. In college, one of my best friends told me that her family collected “profundities.” Their own unique and specific names for things. For example, the little gift tags that you put on presents that say “To” and “From”. Her family was quite large and Christmas morning could get confusing if packages were not marked. So they used these tags, or what her family called “To…
Friday, April 20, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about fear, friends and flying away.
“Fears are nothing but a state of mind.” - Napoleon Hill Yes, fear is a state of mind. But sometimes, depending on what we are afraid of, it can be like Rhode Island, or it can be like Texas. Someone told me once that usually, the fear and anticipation of something, is worse than the actual situation we fear. Oh no it’s not. What about people who have that scary dream where they show up to class for a final exam and they are naked? If that actually happened to me, I guarantee you it would be worse than all the worry about a test could have been. Fear is also individual; every person experiences it differently. A good friend of mine doesn’t like to fly. She was with me on the trip to New Orleans and she was constantly apologizing for …
Friday, April 13, 2012
Marblehead Patch columnist Brenda Kelley Kim talks about ballet, baskets and being the bunny.
“To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it more fit for its prime function of looking forward.” - Margaret Fairless Barber Having a holiday come around definitely brings memories with it. At Christmas, every ornament I put on the tree has a story, and I tell my family each one. It takes hours to decorate our tree, and by the time we are done the kids usually have that glazed over look in their eyes and are begging to go to bed. Mission accomplished. Easter was never a huge deal when I was growing up though. We got baskets, we did a little egg hunt around the house and then we would take a ride. When I was little, the shopping mall in Peabody wasn’t yet enclosed, and for Easter they would have pens …
Brenda Kelley Kim
9:25 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Cheryl, thank you so much. Honestly I was so surprised that people from our class read the columns. Gotta love social media! Jody, you are the best to be so concerned about Oscar. He's a love, that's for sure, thank you for thinking of him. more ›