Josie Iselin Archives - Mothering in the Middle

Musings…

by Josie Iselin

The Chairlift

On the chairlift

amidst the peaks

the glorious sun and air

My friend and I agreed

we would not trade

those years with small kids

for anything

Our careers are stalled

earnings pitiful

retirement savings scary to contemplate

But our two girls banter next to us

in their round helmets and goggles

friends since the beginning

They own the hills with their confident and graceful bodies

lithe and masterful

thinking of me and my friend as weird parents

refusing to let me take their picture to put next to their two-year-old selves.

It was just so fun my friend reminds me

And it was.

They will carry this fun

these two

into their lives.

How could I be richer?

www.JosieIselin.com

Musings…

by Josie Iselin

Knitting

Knitting gives me a sense of accomplishment, of getting somewhere. If I’ve done nothing else during the day —

except, of course, the loads of laundry, food prep, child pick-up, logistical phone calls,

homework help, birthday present acquisition, and what-all —

at least I’ve completed a few rows and the scarf gets a little longer before the day is chalked up.

www.JosieIselin.com

Musings…

by Josie Iselin

Decifer

What goes on in their heads?

What provokes the bouts of screaming, fits, reversions to babytalk,

sudden outbursts of loud and bizarre noises, and unwarranted crying?

I wish I could split them open like a squash

and be reassured by lovely smooth flesh,

not tangled seeds and muck.

www.JosieIselin.com

Musings…

by Josie Iselin

EXPERT

A friend came over the other day with her one-year-old. She was struggling to feed her squirmy child and I instinctively held out an extra spoon for the little fist to grab.

“Every mother knows you need two spoons when feeding a one-year-old,” I thought. “One for baby, one for mom.”

But not everyone does know that simple rule. Hey, I’m an expert!

But an expert at a chapter of parenting that is past. I’m floundering to find the simple rules for where I am now and glimpsing what’s to come with awe and wary anticipation. I’ll only become an expert after that part of the story is wrapped up — like the year of photos neatly edited into an album and set on the shelf. (2006)

www.JosieIselin.com

Interview with Josie Iselin, Author of Heart Stones and Sea Glass Hearts

by Cyma Shapiro

Dear Reader: Heart Stones is my most favorite Valentine’s Day book, ever. I own and have given several of Josie’s books for presents. MitM is honored to feature her, for Valentine’s Day.

Q: Josie, your first book is called Loving Blind/Seeing Red: A Mother’s Decade. It features a series of images with connecting anecdotes about life with small kids which was inspired by your earliest path through motherhood. As the mother of three children, now ranging in age from 15 to 20, they appear to be your driving force, motivation and inspiration. Please tell me more about your journey with them and how it has contributed to your finding your life’s work.

I had my first baby (20 years ago nearly today in fact!) at midwinter break in the second of three years of an MFA program and when done, I thought I would be teaching pretty consistently. But teaching in the arts is initially a transient thing…The reality was that the best economic model for our family was for me to be home with the kids…and it was a gift to us as a family and to me as an artist. My studio is just downstairs (through the backyard) from the kitchen and my work and life are intertwined, physically as well as psychically. My kids and my husband always inspire me to do better work. […]