My kids face-timed me last night. At the same time.
Firstborn: ” Hey Mom, what’s going on? I miss you!” Brilliant blue sky framed his face, his dark sunglasses now part of his SoCal uniform.
I smiled, as I noticed in my periphery, the winter white snow blowing outside my window.
A few minutes into the call, I get a video call request – it’s my not so little G.
“Hold up Mom, I can let her in” said my boy… and in she popped. Her face in frame, from her shoulders I could tell she’s in her usual uniform. Pyjamas.
“I’m being surrounded by crows! What the heck – there are like a dozen of them around me – maybe it’s the new stuff I put in my hair!”
His sister: – “…yeah, they probably think you’re food. They’re coming after you! ”
Me: “I doubt you know this, but reminds me of the movie “The Birds” (which honestly, was made before I was born. I remember the iconic scenes of the birds chasing down Tippi Hendren. Tippi being the mother of Melanie Griffith, and grandmother of Dakota Johnson – who my kids don’t even know. Dating myself and digressing…)
I love the banter that followed, as my son made his way back to his apartment from the rooftop.
“Gonna make dinner now! See this (he opens his fridge) … it looks like sh#t but it’s actually salmon marinating in miso sauce!
“Yum”. says my daughter. I know that she just made tofu and beef for dinner, she had texted me earlier.
Me: “What is up with this, you both cook so well when you’re on your own, but at home ?”
“Adulting while away. But kids when we’re home, Mom. That’s just how it is”.
Well, partly true. They’ll always be kids to me.
Random facetiming. The best.
At a time 
Country People – a book review
Country People by Daniel Mason
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A family of four travel from the comfort of liberal California to the country, Vermont when Kate, the mom, takes the opportunity to be the visiting English professor at a renowned college. Miles, the dad, is still working on his PhD on Russian folktales – it’s taken about a dozen years, he’s still struggling to finish it. With the advent of a couple of kids, he’s willingly taken on the bigger caregiver role, taking a back seat while Kate moves forward with her academic career. Their kids Olive and Wesley, and their dog Guiseppe round out the crew. So maybe this year in the country, will be the perfect time for Miles to finish up his thesis and live up to his potential to make his family (ie. his parents) and wife proud.
While Kate gets settled into work, Miles continues his stay-at-home Dad duties, including school drop offs, running errands, and exploring with his trusty Guiseppe at his side (the author had me at Guiseppe – gotta love a dog with that name!). But rather than focus on his writing, something always gets in his way and there are distractions galore, as he gets to know the neighbourhood, town, countryside, meeting the most interesting folks. Kate encourages him to get out, she knows her husband well enough to know he needs the social interaction. Miles also gets involved with the school, the parents, who are very different than their California equivalents, and even gets invited to secret meetings with locals who are in search of evidence of local legend.
I can’t do any of the characters justice, each one of them is so different and unexpected, and I often laughed out loud reading what was going through Miles’ mind as he made his own judgements and measured people up. It is so often hilarious, and yet very realistic in the day to day – having spent some of my own time as a stay-at-home parent, with my identity quite tied to work/career, I found the perspective of Miles’ Dad experience very refreshing. Also, the very clever use of the radio phone-in shows dialogue– so true to life, when you’re in and out of the car!
And finally, the way the marriage was portrayed, with basic insecurities even after a couple has been together for a very long time. The author weaves in some serious bits about health, scares with the kids, what love and dedication mean, but not in a dramatic way, just very realistically, as life is like that.
This was a solid 4 for me (I would have given 4.5 stars but not quite a 5 because some of the pacing I found a little slow.)
Thanks to the author, Random House and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published July 2026.
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