Parenting
IN THE
Pines
In the Pink BY AMANDA ODEN THE OTHER DAY I WAS DRIVING MY 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER BOWIE HOME FROM DANCE CLASS. We had the radio on but I was focused on the cars on the road while simultaneously making a mental shopping list of the groceries we needed to stop and pick up, and trying to remember if I actually took the chicken out of the freezer before we left or not. I wasn’t really paying much attention to the music or what the radio show host was talking about, so I was kind of surprised when Bowie loudly snapped me out of my ongoing to-do list by yelling from the back seat, “Mommy, what does the word ‘hobby’ mean?”
38 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE June/July 2022
I explained that a hobby was something you enjoy spending time on, or do just for fun. She thought about it for a second and said, “Your hobby must be cleaning because you do it so much!” I laughed and quickly clarified that while I enjoy living in a clean house, I do not consider picking up messes that I did not make all day a hobby. She seemed satisfied with my answer and busied herself with a library book in the back seat. But then I started to wonder, exactly what are my hobbies these days? Three kids, ages 5 and under, at home
