Tonight, we sit out on the veranda, you and I, while candles flicker quietly at our feet. Three citronella in pots reduce to liquid. I say I like the smell, and you mistakenly think that I have given you a compliment. “It’s the smell of the river,” you say. And it’s true. You do smell …
My son is celebrating his thirteenth birthday this month. I can hear him up in his room right now playing risk with two of his cousins, and my heart just swells with love. Here are thirteen things I now know- that I didn’t know then…and all because of becoming Sam’s Mama. I know more of …
I am clearly in no shape to write glowingly or positively about camping having come through a partial emergency root canal the afternoon we checked out from our campsite. The pain meds are certainly doing most of the talking, people. But let me say, toothache aside: I swear. Everything you will read below is a …
We were born for this. This journey, this life adventure. This journey on which we travel in and out of days and weeks and months and years. In and out of seasons. We were born for this quest. Were born for the highs and lows, the twists and turns. The bends. The forks in the …
Today. I was reminded yet again. For what stands to be the thousandth time. (It is a lesson in progress.) That I do not know everyone’s story. Nor do I know all the reasons why or for what reason people do the things they do. And neither can I know all the minute and significant …
39 ways to have a Beautiful Life…in celebration of my 39th birthday. 1. Breathe. Inhale fresh air from the great outdoors. Stop to smell the tree blossoms, pick a daisy, watch a bird in flight. Stay in the moment, slowing down enough to enjoy the simple things in life. 2. Jump. Jump on a trampoline, …
So, here’s where the rubber meets the road. Yesterday, I wrote about seeing the best in people. And I love doing that in my role as teacher, friend, colleague, volunteer. But probably the hardest place for me to practice seeing the best in people is when it comes to family. Because let’s face it, family …
A few years back, when I was teaching high school instead of five-year olds, I use to know a thing or two about teenagers. For instance, I knew that you can’t try too hard to be liked by them. It helps to be funny. And don’t take yourself too seriously, or you’ll be the laughing …
We sit across from one another in a cramped booth. She talks, I lean in. There is urgency in casual lunch meetings of this nature. And we both know that all too soon, time will snatch away these precious moments. And the body language says it all. Urgent!! This is important!! Don’t interrupt. That is, …
That moment. When you feel so very, very horrible. And all because you have left your middlest child at the rink, waiting for the better part of an hour because you had no way to get in touch with her. And all because you were driving from Point A to Point B to Point C …
I am steering the van towards after-school destination numero deux in project “My Life as a Chauffer.” A tired Kindergartener rides solo in the backseat, a motley assortment of Foodland bags/backpacks/other odds and ends ride shotgun in the passenger side. And all the while, Veggie Tales blares in the background. One male character says to …
Humble pie always is the hardest to swallow. But before I get to that, let’s start with this. Wednesday’s incident. I was still trying to get over that. Wednesday. Our busiest day of the week, hands down. We have umpteen dozen things to do between dawn and dusk, and that’s just the day job. Then …