Cori Howard's Page

By Karen Bannister
From The Momoir Project Blog
www.themomoirproject.com


I am a young girl, playing on the sidewalk that forms a white border around the yellow stone house of my childhood. And in the summer breeze, alone except for the whistle of the wind in the trees and the distant cries of other children playing in the hot, bright sun, I step into the grooves and cracks in the pavement, slipping my jelly shoe feet into the parts in between. I try, concentrating all my mental energy and the… Continue

By Karen Bannister
The Momoir Project: Writing Classes for Moms
www.themomoirproject.com

As light streams through the cracks in my bedroom blinds, I hear the sound of my husband’s feet touching the floor, the slow rustle of his body unraveling from the sheets. It is 7am and I am slowly coming to, wrestling the drug of sleep from my head as I acknowledge the four walls around me, the comfort and warmth of the light grey comforter on top of me and the softness beneath my head.

I hear my son’s cr… Continue

The most popular writing class for moms that I teach, by far, is the one where we write about our birth experiences. It’s also the hardest class, because we have to try to fit such a monumental
rite of passage into a few hundred words. But after the fear dissipates and the pens
start moving on paper, it’s hard to stop writing. And I think it’s fair to say that everyone is always moved, amused, astonished and saddened by the stories we read to each other.

Birth, according to a new Canadian antho… Continue

This weekend, I spent some time at the Healthy Families Conference in Vancouver where I had the privilege of hearing Peggy O’Mara, the editor of Mothering Magazine (the only independently-owned parenting magazine in the world) wax eloquently on the topic of mothering and community. The silver- haired O’Mara has been writing and editing on the topic of motherhood for 30 plus years, so she knows of what she speaks.

Addressing an audience of women at UBC, she spoke about how isolating modern mothe… Continue

I was recently interviewed by a reporter with The Canadian Press (up here in Canada) about the delicate balance we face as parents, between giving our kids the freedom to roam the world and protecting them from harm.
The story was prompted by the disappearance of a girl in Ontario who was walking home from school and never made it. It’s one of those horrible, nightmare stories that every mother thinks about when they are considering releasing the reigns on their own children.
My son is now 7 and… Continue