What a Labour Day weekend I have had. That is all I can truly say. It was one for the record books. We decided to take our new-to-us camper and do one more, end-of-the-summer camping spree with the gang. Worst.idea.ever. And now that summer is over, I cannot even look forward to a vacation from …
I peek in the room, and she is propped up on pillows, reading by lamplight left on from the evening before. I come in, bend low to her head and kiss her. It is 7:00 a.m. We have a busy day ahead. I have two presentations before lunch, and my mind is on this. I …
I am ashamed to say it. I became “that” mother today. That mother that yells at her children, that puts the house ahead of her child, that cares more about shoes than her crying preschooler- and that finally strips her child down to her birthday suit on the front door step and carries her screaming …
Morning rises. The newly borne dawn begins the day with heavy fog and low-lying clouds. Threatening rain. The air, so heavy with moisture, feels like a vapor bath. A quick look at the forecast reveals thunder showers and lightening are in the forecast for later this afternoon. Not what had been predicted on yesterday’s radio …
There are days when joy comes sparingly. When despair sets in, and disappointment robs me of the present, the immediate. When I fall from grace. When I succumb to pain. And I am left empty. Today is such a day. And I am very aware of all that I am. And all that I am …
The things we do for love. This past week, I have been more aware of how we who are parents change while we are on vacation- we become even better people than hopefully we already are. Not a real coincidence that all this happens while parents are on vacation from the real world. But, it …
A dear ‘stay-at-home mama’ friend of mine wrote her Facebook status today on ‘being present’. She briefly addressed the fact that she is with her children daily, but she is not always present with them. In this update, she vowed to be more present and ‘in the moment’ than she had failed to be in …
I do not believe in fairy tales, and neither do I believe in happy endings. Life, as I see it, is a series of imperfections, unfortunate experiences, and hard times that follow one after the other. People talk about life being beautiful, precious and wildly exciting, but I don’t see it. I really don’t. Life …
As I pen words, it is a dreary, soaking-wet, rain-drenched evening outside my sitting room window. We are all drying ourselves out after a torrential down-pour just moments ago, occurring just as we made a run for it from the van to the front steps. This onslaught also occurring after we all had walked through …
My Jumping Jellybean settled in for the evening inside her bedroom, I lie down on the double bed that serves as center piece, for evening stories and prayers. Tonight’s Bible verse is this: “…always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else (I Thess. 5:18b).” That pretty much sums it up. At …
Happy Hour at the Gard residence is officially beginning. It is that time of the night when mama bear can let her hair down, exhale a whole lot of hot air and cut loose on the computer while the little cubs hibernate in their little dens. There are no thankfully no audible sounds coming from …
It is about a million degrees in the house right now, this summer solstice evening. I have just come downstairs for the umpteenth time, floating on heat waves as I ride the banister. The last trip was to tuck my youngest daughter in bed with throw pillows and blankets all in place along with every …