Articles by Sarah Smiley
SARAH SMILEY
Hiring a house cleaner
I’ve never had anyone, except maybe my mom, clean my house. Ironically, I never thought my house was clean enough to invite — and by “invite,” of course I mean “pay” — someone to clean it. But my hesitation also stemmed from a long heritage of women who clean their ...
SARAH SMILEY
Pictures capture little family moments you never knew existed
Often we cannot see things until they are reflected back at us. Trust me on this; six years ago I wrote a memoir with portrayals of others that annoyed friends and relatives. Seeing yourself through the lens of another is jarring and sensitive, but ultimately, educational. I never fully understood ...
SARAH SMILEY
Dinner with the Smileys: Learning about cancer
So far, Dinner with the Smileys has been about us and what we are going through while Dustin is away on deployment. My boys have met interesting people who have given them unforgettable experiences and thoughtful gifts. My boys are forever changed because of it. After the mayor’s surprise limo ...
SARAH SMILEY
‘Dinner with the Smileys’ January recap
This project began out of desperation. When my three boys — ages 5, 9 and 11 — said it would be sad to see their Navy dad’s empty seat at the dinner table while he is away on a yearlong deployment, I set out to fill the void. I called ...
SARAH SMILEY
Fear of the unknown and bulky at Sam’s Club
My children leisurely eat popcorn while they watch Obi-Wan Kenobi defeat Anakin Skywalker in the battle of Mustafar. They laugh with their dad at Saturday Night Live’s “Massive Head Wound Harry.” They keep action figures and plastic dinosaurs that are missing various body parts. We have a life-size, talking Darth ...
SARAH SMILEY
Lindell and the Christmas Eve fiasco
Lindell has never been particularly shy. It’s all part of the gig of being the youngest of three. I know from experience; like Lindell, I have two older brothers. If Ford (my firstborn) is like a weed whacker cutting a messy path through the wilderness of youth for his younger ...
SARAH SMILEY
Sen. Susan Collins has dinner with the Smileys
Ford, 11, wrote the first round of invitations for Dinner with the Smileys (you can read his invitation on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/sarah.is.smiley), so he wanted to set the table for our first guest, Sen. Susan Collins. I told him to Google “proper place setting” because I was busy ...
SARAH SMILEY
Answering Michelle Obama’s call to help
Last week I told you about my plan for 2012: to host 52 separate dinner guests, one for each week that my husband, Dustin, is deployed overseas. For us, this project is intended to be more of a distraction than it is a measurement of time. And we know that ...
SARAH SMILEY
Special deployment feature: Dinner with the Smileys
When Dustin is gone, I get creative with ways to count down the time. The standard way, of course, is with a paper chain. But a chain with 390 paper links could probably wrap around our small house three times and still have length left over for the dog to ...
SARAH SMILEY
Watching the sunrise isn’t for everyone
I have a history of not waking up on time. The problem started when I was a teenager, and everyone thought it was just a phase. “She’ll grow out of it,” they said. “What teenager gets up early anyway?” By my 20s, however, it was clear that I am, by ...
SARAH SMILEY
Training dogs and children
It has become abundantly clear to me in the last month that before having children I should have attended a dog obedience class. It has also become clear, thanks to our adolescent dog, Sparky, what I should expect from my soon-to-be adolescent son, Ford. Now, I’m not saying my children ...
SARAH SMILEY
‘All-volunteer’ service is not what it seems
I am committed to making sure this column does not become a yearlong rant about the ups and downs of having my husband deployed, but reactions to my Occupy column bring up common military-spouse conundrums: Do military families think they are owed something because of their sacrifices? And can you ...
SARAH SMILEY
Too occupied to Occupy
Until Thanksgiving Day, I had not paid much attention to the Occupy movement. I had followed the news stories and listened to debates for and against the protests. I had struggled to explain to my children the purpose of the campers outside the local library (“Are they having an art ...
SARAH SMILEY
Husband’s change of command brings change
As a military dependent for more than 35 years, I have been to many changes of command, most of them for my dad. Earlier this month, I attended one for my husband, Dustin. A change of command is the Navy’s answer to that awkward moment when one authority is leaving ...
Close call at restaurant with kids
When the kids asked, “What’s your favorite restaurant, Mom?” I had no idea they planned to take me there for my birthday. Otherwise, I would have fibbed and said “Wendy’s” or “UNO,” some place suitable for dinner with three children under the age of 11. Instead, and without hesitation, I ...
SARAH SMILEY
Meet Sparky, the newest family member
My youngest son, Lindell, 4, has had just one aspiration: to be a dog. I’m not joking. Neither is he. Before Lindell knew his ABCs, he was fetching a tennis ball … with his mouth. Oh, I had tried to stop this behavior, and I put my foot down when ...
SARAH SMILEY
Troop withdrawal: Results may vary
Words matter. The order in which a writer places words matters. Simple wording is best. And verbs can change everything. This is why, when I teach writing, I ask students to find examples of powerfully placed words. It’s not a difficult task. Examples abound, with the advertising world leading the ...
SARAH SMILEY
Traveling through the Milky Way to Big Donald’s
Recently, at a church dinner, I told my boys, “There will be a limit on the bread.” What I meant was that each of them could have two pieces with their lasagna. This was a result of the week before, when my almost-11-year-old son brought his plate to the table ...
SARAH SMILEY
Military wife relies on Mr. T
There is an old adage in military-wife culture: as soon as the men leave, the house and car fall apart. This never fails. My own Navy-wife mom bought most of our family’s new appliances while my dad was on deployment. I grew up believing that’s what moms do; they make ...
SARAH SMILEY
Mother of boys shares wisdom with new mom
A friend recently had her first baby, a boy. As you know, I have three boys. I also grew up with two older brothers. So my friend had some questions, and I did my best to answer. Turns out I know more about boys than I thought. (To be fair, ...
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