Thanks For The Facebook Memories
Did you know that I’m so old I joined Facebook when you still needed a .edu email address? This will not surprise my children; they already think I’m ancient. I remember being excited when I was finally issued my college email, it felt so grown up. Compared to my first Hotmail user name, which was a silly collection of things I liked followed by a number, I guess it was pretty grown up. So, one of the first things I did with it was sign up for The Facebook. Yes, The Facebook, not just Facebook. Google says they dropped the “The” my first semester of college, so there you go.…
New Year, Fickle Me
The clock and calendar did their collective roll into 2022, and nothing changed. Admittedly, I was asleep for the occasion, but it appears Tinkerbell did not come in and tap her magic wand and make everything better. Fireworks didn’t shower us with life-changing embers as they twinkled and fell to the ground. Neither was there dissipating magic at the stroke of midnight turning everything back into pumpkins and mice— after all, no one would accuse 2021 of being magical. We simply finished one year with its mix of highs and lows, grief and joy, fun and hardship, and were ushered into a new one that will have its own unique…
2021, Where’d You Go?
Wow. It has been a hot minute since I last wrote or shared an update. Thank you for your patience with me as I shake the rust off my brain and try to remember how to put keystrokes to screen and compose complete, adult-sounding sentences again. Somehow an entire year has gone by and I am now the parent of children that are 8, 7, 5, 3, and 4 months old. Yes, they are all a year older and there’s a new one. They have multiplied, somedays like Gremlins it seems. I am basking in the glow of warm, white lights on a tree that will probably be up for…
Anticipating The Night Before Christmas
There’s a moment on Christmas Eve that stands out as my favorite of the entire holiday season. It occurs at the very end of all the hustle and bustle, when the typical onslaught of holiday parties, shopping, and general busyness has finally reached a close. It comes after getting everyone dressed up for church and trying to force my children to take just one good picture in their nicest holiday clothes. It’s after the chaos of dinner and the insanity of bedtime on the most exciting night of the year. And it’s at the tail end of my present wrapping extravaganza, where I dig out all of the presents hiding…
Try a Little Thankfulness
2020 is a year that’s been marked by frustration and disappointment for almost everyone. For too many, it has encompassed pain, fear, and sadness as well. It’s no wonder that by the time we’ve made it almost 12 months into this year, and 9 months into a pandemic, that I felt lackluster about Thanksgiving. Coming up with 30 things I’m thankful for this year was hard. But cultivating a heart of gratitude isn’t about seeing everything with rose-colored glasses– it’s about standing in the compost pile that is 2020 and being thankful for what grows out of it, even if the process is stinky. Things I’m Thankful For 2020 Edition…
Live and Love Without Words
We have the privilege of celebrating another birthday with our Wonder Woman, who has just turned four. Four more celebrations than she was ever supposed to have, according to a misinformed medical community. I am at a loss for words, which is inconvenient for me since this blog is specifically for writing. But when I think about how far she’s come, it doesn’t feel like the right words exist to describe her journey, her strength, or how she’s changed us, and that’s fitting since she lives and loves all without words. As a writer by trade, it’s odd for me to experience something so ineffable. I always search for the…
Messy Vans & the Comfort of Drive-Thrus
Like many moms my age, I have a minivan, and I love her. Though a look at the trash piling up on flat surfaces, crusty French fries in crevices, and spilled sticky-something in the back right cup holder might give you a different impression. I feel slightly guilty about the mess she’s in, and I’ve started giving myself half-hearted mental reminders about her biannual cleaning. But truthfully, the mess is part of the reason I love my van. There are French fries everywhere because it’s the perfect place for meals on the go. Straw wrappers float around like confetti from the delicious iced chais and sweet teas I’ve consumed while…
Life, Art, and the Creative Process
I didn’t publish a blog last week, breaking my year-long streak—though it wasn’t for lack of trying. I have written snippets and pieces that remain unfinished. I have felt ideas float around my head but cannot coax them into words. I have processed a wide range of thoughts and emotions, none of them cooperative enough to become a cohesive piece of writing, preferably in the vicinity of 500-700 words. And though the blemish to my weekly self-publishing routine is new, this struggle to write is a familiar pattern. Each week I have started and stopped, I’ve typed and deleted. I’ve procrastinated, prayed, and persisted, eventually pulling ideas from my head…
Lightbulb Moments in Parenting & Life
My son looked at me with his serious face, dark eyes locked on mine. He repeated words I had just told him with a “yes ma’am” tacked on for good measure. Then, the moment they were out of his mouth, he jumped off-topic, stringing words together in a run-on sentence. “Listen to you, wait until you say so, yes ma’am, I think I know what the answer was.” “We’re not talking about the answer right now,” I said sternly. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose, forcing myself to stay calm. I was trying to help my oldest son with schoolwork while juggling other things on my…
Growing Up & Living the Dream
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” When asked, my oldest has answered a police officer for as long as I can remember. His younger brother chooses firefighter. They’ve gotten in their heads that it’s a team thing, like Chase and Marshall on Paw Patrol, or Chase and Heatwave on Rescue Bots— or whatever other kid show is out there with a cop character named Chase. My boys see themselves as a team; it’s sweet. It remains to be seen what they’ll pursue as they get older and realize there are a million and one opportunities in the world. But asking the question is a fun way…
