The little girl and her mother enter the sandwich shop together, hand in hand. She has clearly dressed herself this morning, as she’s sporting a fluffy tulle skirt over a floral dress and glittery shoes, with accessories galore. She helps her mother order and then finds a table for them. When her mother brings over […]
Category: Hope
What to do when you find yourself looking back
Family legend has it that one Christmas Eve when I was very young, my grandfather, with a twinkle in his eye, informed us kids that we were going to the North Pole to get our presents. Without hesitating, I ran to get my coat, slipped my arms into it in record time, and was waiting […]
Forever Thanksgiving
[I wrote this years ago after watching my daughter’s kindergarten class in their Thanksgiving program at school, but I was reflecting on it this morning, how true it still is. My daughter is now a senior in high school. I have been around the block a few times since I wrote it. But it stands […]
When our tulle dreams meet an itchy reality
It was the lightest hue of lilac. The perfect marriage of romantic and playful. Tulle and ruffles, with a hint of a corset. Victorian roots, but with a modern and youthful twist. It was, she knew right away, meant to be hers. My daughter, Kendall, picked out this year’s Homecoming dress back in the spring. […]
The God Who (still) redeems
I was in third grade when I discovered the magic of glasses. It was as if I went into the optometrist’s office as one person, and I walked out as another. Of course, I hadn’t changed intrinsically, but I had been given a new lens (or in this case, corrective lenses) through which I could […]
Life around the lake
They were waiting for us. Everyone was assembled in front of the lake, which was in front of the mountain. Family, lake, mountain. All ready and waiting for us. We arrived at the lodge and texted my family that we were heading out to meet them for the family picture. Greetings were exchanged. Balloons and […]
All because a stranger waved at me
It was my daughter’s first day of her sophomore year. But even more importantly, it was her first year attending high school in person, after completing her freshman year virtually due to the pandemic. I’m not sure who was more nervous, but it was probably me. Kendall was so thrilled to be going to school […]
Lessons learned in the passenger’s seat
I’m not supposed to be here. Hot. Sweating profusely, in fact. Ready to throw up or faint, but not sure which way it’s going to go. My head is spinning. Emotions going haywire. All I want to do is yell, “stop!” And then move back into the driver’s seat, where I am in control. Comfortable. […]
Ode to joy: a celebration of motherhood in three parts (part three)
Part Three DIY disaster Ode to my daughter My daughter’s room has been through nearly as many changes as she has over the years. From a darling ladybug/bee/butterfly nursery to a pink princess theme to a transitional stage where she began to despise pink and love mint green. It was then, when she was in […]
Ode to joy: a celebration of motherhood in three parts (part two)
Part Two Painted women Ode to my mom I’m sure he remembers that night. Oh, he’d like to forget. But somehow the image lingers. One lazy summer evening about 22 years ago, Dad returned from work to find two women who looked familiar, almost like ridiculous versions of his wife and daughter, but he couldn’t […]
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