Marriage and Family
To Be
I started getting in trouble for my ‘to be’ verbs in junior AP English. It was my favorite class of my whole school experience, but it was also the point at which i realized i was not the greatest writer of all time. (WHAT???) My teacher, the legendary Mrs. McNulty, would take a red ink [...]
A Perfect Day
Following a pretty rotten day, the universe will sometimes throw you a nearly perfect one. Or maybe it’s just that, for me, two consecutive rotten days are unacceptable. In any case, yesterday= pretty dang crummy. Today, however, rolled something like this: Day started, per usual, with a small girl crawling into bed with me and [...]
Immediately
Parenthood comes with that same sense of urgency. They grow so quickly, we don’t have much time. Let me get just this one snack made, this one conflict dissolved, this one dance recital/baseball season/science project under wraps…then i will rest. Then I can enjoy the ride. But sometimes…well, sometimes, the urgent replaces the important. And we can spend a great deal of our lives focused on that ‘just one more’ thing, and far too little of it in the moment.
A Moving Picture
My 3-year-old has a new catch phrase response for when you ask her a question and she doesn’t know the answer. Or at least, doesn’t have the words handy. She says, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen the movie yet.” Now, somewhere in her quickly-developing brain, there is a very literal connection in there, something that [...]
Good Stuff
How do we develop a taste for good things? Is it an acquired taste, cultivated by careful nurture? Or are some of us just born with a hunger for life that drives us through every transition, challenge and heartache with the promise of good news on the other side? I ask my 3-year-old, “What are your favorite things?” I [...]
Spinach
When I was pregnant, I could not eat green vegetables. I couldn’t stomach the tastes and textures, plus the heartburn that ensued was unbearable. (I often think that nature uses pregnancy to prepare women for motherhood in many ways. Including, perhaps, making us empathetic to a picky toddler’s eating habits). So, I ate lots of fruit [...]
The Business of Babies: A shopping list, a Lent reflection, and a bit of a memoir…
I recently cleared my house of ALOT of baby and kid stuff; not just outgrown clothes, but bouncers, extra strollers, baby seats and… on and on. Which caused me to reflect on how much of the stuff had actually been useful, and how much had just been in the way. Don’t be fooled–babies are a business. [...]
Road-Trippy Soul Food
I know, I know, it’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve written anything. Nearly a week since I’ve had any real exercise. Several days since I spent any real time in prayerful meditation. But I am being faithful in at least one discipline this Lenten season–no fast food! Since breakfast is the hardest time of [...]
The English Major Diet: Valentine’s Day Edition
Like many of you, I have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day. I’m all for telling our loved ones that they are…well, loved. But needing a special day to do it is kind of like needing New Year’s to make a resolution. Mostly, the whole day is a commercialized fiasco that wastes a bunch of paper, [...]
Day 2; Burgers, Burritos and Beginnings
Ok, so we start. Read back a day if you want to know why i’m recounting the best meals i ever ate. Basically, I figure that reflecting on the divine dining experience will keep me from eating crap like, you know, cheeseburgers. So why am i starting my ‘best meals ever’ series with a cheeseburger? [...]
