I headed to Austin last week with a heavy heart. I was (and am) mourning the loss of my brother-in-law and was so conflicted by how I was going to make this a successful trip of networking, socializing, and “selling my brand” when I had a hard time even smiling. And then I received texts from writer friends who’d arrived ahead of me, asking when I’d get there and saying how excited they were to see me. And I smiled. And when I arrived at the hotel, and then at conference the…
I think one of the most bizarre parts of grief and loss is this. This blue sky, this bright sun, this feeling of fresh air and warmth when I stepped outside today. It was confusing to my exhausted, melancholy mind. How dare this gorgeous day appear when my heart and mind are bawling! Shouldn’t the whole world be dark and gloomy? How can the days keep going, keep changing from day to night and day again, when we’re frozen in our sadness? How can the world keep turning and the day-to-day keep occurring? How…
So this was fun. Recently I volunteered to help with the A-B Honor Roll Ice Cream Party at my son’s high school. Don’t worry, he was fine with me being there, and even came to my “station” with some of his friends to say hi. All was good. I’ve been volunteering with my boys’ elementary and middle schools for several years, usually helping in some way with the teacher luncheons, field trips, carnivals, etc. I’m comfortable in both of those schools and have several mom/dad friends in…
Life with children is busy, full, exhausting, chaotic. And that’s exactly what we knew our life would become when we prayed so hard for each of our babies. But, somewhere in the middle of the noise and the busyness, there’s still us. The two people who fell in love and filled their house with beautiful, loud chaos. And those two need as much attention as the little, loud crazies running through the kitchen with light sabers and monster trucks. We still need to feel that connection, that romance that pulled us together all those years ago…
During my girls’ weekend with some precious writing friends, we had a long, relaxed chat about our writing, our blogs, our goals. And the question of our “WHY” came up. WHY are we doing this? WHY are we writing and blogging and building our social media and working our tails off to reach teeny tiny and insanely huge goals? WHY is this important to us? WHY does this consume us the way it does? Of course each of our answers was different. And mine, as I knew it would be, was all over the place. My WHY…
Hey. Can I tell you something? If I know you’re excited about something in your life, I’m gonna be excited for you. If you’re looking forward to something with bated breath, I’m gonna wait anxiously with you. And when you announce it’s finally happened, I’m gonna jump up and down for you. If you’ve been working hard toward something and need some encouragement, I’m gonna rally for you. If you’ve checked off something from your bucket list, I’m gonna high…
“What if someone is sitting in my seat when I get to my class?” “What if everyone laughs at my haircut?” “What if I have to do the rope climb in P.E.?” As soon as I started reading this book with my boys, I felt myself nodding. We deal with these same kinds of questions every week in my house. The curiosity of what COULD happen next is prevalent in their little, but growing minds. Sometimes, often times, the situations that seem so simple or mundane to adults can be absolutely overwhelming to…
Took a walk on the beach with this one today. It wasn’t supposed to be a mushy, heartfelt moment; I just asked if anyone wanted to take one more walk before we checked out and headed home, and he said yes. It was a gorgeous day and the breeze along the water felt amazing. I could have walked for hours. But we only had time for a short walk, so I tried to relish it. The conversation was casual. I just wanted to chat and listen and not let my frantic brain jump ahead to the 518 topics…
It’s that time. We’re scheduling haircuts and sports physicals, organizing carpools, and squeezing in those last summer getaways. We’re scanning the cabinets and drawers searching for anything we already have that would cut down the time and money spent in those bright, overstocked Back-to-School aisles. We’re buying new shoes again (because OH MY GOSH, how have their feet grown two sizes in three months?!), stocking up on lunch supplies, and turning off the Fortnite games to make sure the required summer reading gets finished. And guess what? Your children’…
“Late night at work … came home to see this sweet bit of heaven asleep on the couch. Had to scoop him into my lap and snuggle him, as he grumbled and stretched and curled back up to get comfy. Sorry to disturb you, Little One, but you will sooo understand when you have babies of your own.” That was my Facebook post July 20, 2015. It was one of those “mom guilt” moments that hit me deep in the heart. I was working full-time as a magazine editor and while I loved being an…