Tag: kids

Hope. Someone here needs hope. So … here we go.

Ten years ago today I drank my last rum & coke. Ten years ago tomorrow I woke up sicker than a dog, feeling confused about what had happened the night before, but certain I had angered a whole lot of people. I was humiliated by my actions, ... Read More


I got to do something really cool yesterday. I got to sit down with a friend and see the kids’ chapter book she’s spent the last year putting together. Then I got to help her brainstorm ways to get that book published.

It’s like being part of someone’s childbirth. It’s messy and complicated and there are all ... Read More


Today I’ve decided to become more like Alaina.

Don’t know Alaina? Take my word for it, she’s awesome. I mean, she had a UNICORN at her birthday party, how awesome is that?! The girl has style.

Alaina is seven and a few weeks ago she graduated from first grade. First grade was a pretty big deal ... Read More


I used to hate it when old ladies in the grocery store would stop me and say, “Enjoy these moments, Sweetheart. They pass so fast.”

Meanwhile, I had one kid standing on the bread in the shopping cart, another climbing the shelves to reach the Frosted Flakes and a third kid hiding under the cart with a ... Read More


My son, Ben, mowed the lawn for the first time this weekend. He recently turned 12, has excess evening energy and his father was gone. In my mind, that makes him old enough to run power tools.

I was shocked by how well it went. We are too cheap to buy the type of mower that self-propels, ... Read More


I put my underwear on inside-out twice in the past week. Too much information? Yeah, sorry about that.

The first time I did it, I was visiting my father and I suspected my mind was on him. But then I did it again after I got home and I’m not sure what I was thinking at that point. Clearly, I was ... Read More


What would your nine-year-old self think of you right now? Would the younger you be in awe that you even made it to __ years old? Would that youthful being say, “Way to go!” or “What the heck were you thinking?”

I know one thing: whether we are hitting life on the mark or need to readjust our aim, our younger ... Read More


I’m not above bribery.

This morning I woke up to find a note next to my computer:

“MOM

When I wake up ask me about Psalm 23. I know it but I will forget to do it for you if you don’t remind me.”

I have three children, but the one who left this note didn’t need to sign it. He knows ... Read More


Have you ever had a MONDAY that lasted all day?

I had one a few weeks ago and it wasn’t pretty.

I woke up crabby. I took my son to school crabby. I went to Pickleball crabby. Then the crabby turned to sad. I ate cookies sad. I read a book sad. I took a nap sad.

Eventually, I wandered into my office ... Read More


I can remember my anger like it was yesterday. It happened 29 years ago, and yet I can still see myself yelling, stomping and slamming a bedroom door.

I was a junior in high school and a boy invited me to visit him at his college two hours from our hometown.

We weren’t dating. We were just friends and he thought I’d ... Read More