In the fall of 2011, we discovered our daughter, Faith, had a broken neck. Before and after her precarious but successful corrective surgery, Faith endured strict limitations on her mobility. For months, she reluctantly kept her physical activity to a minimum. Playing on the jungle gym during recess at school? Nope. Riding her bike around the ...
There's a particular Starbucks I frequent, one that sits across the street from the courts where my daughter, Faith, has tennis practice. While Faith works on her tennis game, you can often find me working on my writing game at one of their outdoor tables under an umbrella. I'm there a lot this summer. One day, after ordering my typical iced ...
When my family had lived in the Midwest for a year, and I was in a season of parenting three tiny humans, we attended a church full of beautifully kind and loving people. After some time, I finally began forming relationships with a few of the good folks there. One particular Sunday when my husband was out of town for work, I managed to navigate ...
I slide into the booth at Kneaders opposite Salena, excited to chat with this woman I recently met but feel like I’ve known for years. Over her fruit tart and my breakfast croissant, she and I meander down a long road of conversation, lingering here and there at points of interest. She is a former army wife, and I am a former air force wife. As ...
Here it is, mid-May, and I’m going back and forth between reading news on Meghan and Harry’s baby boy and remembering this time last year when two of my three kiddos graduated high school. Planning a graduation is in many ways like planning a wedding. Out of town guests? Check. Cake and a party? Check. Lots of bittersweet tears because really, ...
On a sun-drenched Saturday several years ago, we gathered at Jen’s house, each bringing a glass or porcelain plate. On Jen’s driveway, we took turns dropping our plates. After each one shattered, we walked around and picked up a few of each other’s shards to add to a few of our own. Because this is what good friends do: become safe places to break ...
I grinned country-mile wide as my friend, Jen, told me about her neighborhood’s propensity for playing practical jokes on one another. The entire gang good-naturedly gave as well as they got, and one time they got Jen and her family especially good. The shenanigans were discovered on a late summer evening when Jen, her husband, and her three ...
When motherhood and I were just getting acquainted, I thought I could approach her like taking a test. If I prepared well and made few mistakes, I could ace this thing and therefore send my children into the wild blue yonder with nary a carry-on size bit of baggage. I assumed good parenting would fit nicely within my hard work ethic and efforts, ...
If you see a small creature scampering in the woods or along a path during winter, you can bet the little guy has weighed the pros and cons of being seen. In my own corner of the Colorado pines, I don’t often see chipmunks this time of year. Painted black stripe across his back, the chipmunk leans towards sleeping more to conserve energy so his ...
The other day, I told David if parenting is a marathon, then we’re at the twenty-third-ish mile, and sometimes I want to fall out, put my feet up, and chug a tall sweet tea. Parenting kids of any age is exhausting business, but what exhausts shifts and changes. For nineteen years, I’ve bent and moved through many different stages, often unsure of ...
