When She’s Halfway to 20
We are sitting side by side at our beat up kitchen table. Yes, the table where I fed her her first bits of solid food, food she sucked back so quickly because this first time Mom didn’t realize she shouldn’t…
Who Told You That?
“Who told you that?” He placed his hands squarely on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Who told you that?” He repeated just as emphatically but a little quieter and gentler the second time. She stood, staring…
5 Things You Need to Know About Having A Big “ger” Family.
The Diaper Bag: Baby #1, the diaper bag is beautiful, a work of organizational art. There are pockets for everything, a water proof bag for soiled clothes, a plastic dispenser filled with disposable bags for dirty diapers, a cute…
Don’t Follow the Rules!
Contrast the drive in to town filled with so much endless upbeat chatter I wondered if I could keep up, the quiet ride home was almost unnerving. Maybe she’d played herself out? Headlights paved the way through the early autumn…
What You Can Not Know
A lump rose in my throat as he reached for the giant pliers that would break open the hopes and prayers of the past, kept safely, for a time in that box. 10 years ago we stood together, pregnant with…
When Failing Doesn’t Mean You’ve Failed
We walked through the woods together talking through the details of this difficult day. The moon shone through the trees and it was strangely quiet considering the island was bursting with over 100 little campers and another 50 plus counsellors,…
The Last Day of School; Who Grades Mom?
Raise your hand if you’re a Mom and this week, or two, or three, was a tad bit overwhelming? Both hands raised here. The schedule alone was demanding. The back and forth, the here and there. Literally Saturdays and every…
Love says, “It hurts. Open your hand.”
Yesterday she stood over an open casket laced with flowers. The internal tidal wave of emotion barely constrained by the dam of social pressure and personal expectation. This was goodbye. There were no more relational choices to be made, no…
Fight: Parenting 101
FIGHT. Not likely the first words you expect to hear as one of the most important words we can remember as parents. Perhaps you’re a mom or dad of a newborn and when you hear those words all you can…
Significance
Front porch creeks with a new chair, joining the cricket chorus And she lifts me into her enfolding lap; Flushed cheeks turn up to greet deep grey eyes Pudgy knuckles trace, cup and grasp; and I sing, “Do you see…
