Check it off the list. Finish the job. That task will be hanging over my head until it’s completely done. Any of those sound familiar? There are two sides to every coin. On one side is laziness and lack of impetus to get started. On the other is an impulsive, burning drive that pushes me to keep chugging along, a fire that never quite goes out.…
What would you do over, if you could? My husband and I were recently talking about things we truly wished we could do over again. He’d wished he’d attended high school prom with the girl who’d asked him. I wished I’d actually dated a particular boy in my senior year of high school, despite my parents’ objections—because, looking back, I’m pretty sure he was my first…
One of my son's favorite places to visit is the cemetery. We walk there from our house (it's our nearest "park") and, once past the enclosure fence, my son crawls down from his stroller and pushes the stroller around like a life-size toy car. There's a fountain under a huge old fir that we call my son's fountain. Flat headstones make level ground which is…
This was a letter that I planned to use as a blog post before Baby George arrived in the world. He decided to arrive 10 days before his due date, which might have been the reason it missed its original release date. However, all the advice I had for him still applies. I think it's funny that Relationships and Social Media seem equally important as categories…
Remember when I wrote that post about emerging from a dark Cave and discussed the process of cradling my newborn son while I groped my way back to the outside world? That little son is almost one year old now. And he’s teaching me all sorts of stuff. I’m learning how to be more patient, tender, and detailed in caring for him than I have ever had…
“You’re too young to wear sunglasses.” I’m having a conversation with a good friend, lamenting the currently unbearable distance is between where I am and where I want to be. She looks at me, smiles, and says, “You don’t really want to be famous yet. You’re too young to wear sunglasses.” Remember those movies about the small-town singer who becomes a superstar or the little obscure…
Eating cooked vegetables at three years old. Me: It looks gross! I hate the smell. Mom: Just try it. Me: WAAAH! Mom: One bite. You only have to try one bite. Elise takes a bite and, years later, learns that she likes vegetables. Learning to dive backwards in high school. Me: Oh my gosh. I'm so scared I think I'm going to be sick. Instructor:…
Some conversations change our lives. Interactions with others make us take our path in a different directions. Some also encourage us to stay on our paths, but to walk with more confidence and courage. I have been so discouraged whenever I catch wind of the implication I must let my dreams fall aside to make way for what my little baby needs me to be to…
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” -Theodore Roosevelt Can you imagine having a child you love, and constantly comparing that little, fragile soul to the frightening, and competitive world around her? I’m not a mother, but seriously, that sounds heartlessly cruel. And yet, this is what comparison does to my heart (the child) every time I rank myself against someone else. I have friends who are…
The night winds’ breath gained a sharp edge this week. The calendar tells me I’ve officially crossed into autumn. The world is going to sleep, or in darker terms, preparing to die. Yep, that’s seriously how I see it. Welcome to my dramatic mind. As someone who struggles with seasonal depression (I like to call myself a Light Addict), I fight to keep a bright spirit…