I think somewhere in the far (very far) recesses of my mind, where things are neat and organized, I had a vision of doing school at home in an, at least somewhat, organized manner. I pictured specific hours, specific daily routines, life on a schedule.… Read More
Ugsome. The word of the day arrives in my inbox, just as I sit down here to write about how my son threw up last night, and winter won’t end, and how completely bedraggled and exhausted I look and feel lately. Ugsome: to cause fear,… Read More
Turbo TV is on in the background. My kids are having friends over and are up late on a school-night, watching television. I hear a character announce himself, defiantly, I am the fastest on this planet! In a world of racing snails and aliens (seriously,… Read More
Dear Lila, Yesterday, you curled on the couch and covered your head with pillows while the rest of us began school. I did not yell. Yesterday, your ears turned deaf when I gently asked you to come to the table. Your weight shifted on the… Read More
This will pass. This will pass. This will pass. This will…can you PLEASE just do what I’ve asked without being disrespectful to me or annoying to your siblings? …pass. This will pass. It has to. I’m telling myself this as I load the dishwasher, with… Read More
There was a quiet snowfall. Cinematic clumps of white, drifting and swirling down to the church parking lot, where I stood, chin to the sky, mouth open. About half a dozen kids and I, giggling and licking at the winter sky. Welcome, winter. Welcome, Christmas… Read More
My children are currently playing quietly throughout the house, building LEGOs in one room, imagining a magical ball with Barbie in another, some occasional sounds of explosions and whispered exclamations from Asher in the bedroom. Despite our slow start, the day ahead of us remains… Read More
My grandmother and I hugged and asked each other the same question we always ask at these things, these family cookouts, Christmas parties, get-togethers. How’s life? She asked first, and so I let loose the usual Oh, busy, busy, busy, diapers, portrait sessions, kids in my hair,… Read More
I’ve been stopped a lot in the past couple of years. Stopped, as in, pulled over for a reason other than an expired inspection ticket. And a lot, meaning, three times. I’m thirty-four, and this is the most I have ever seen flashing lights in… Read More
My son is walking from room to room (in our teeny-tiny-too-small-for-a-family-of-six house) making a buzzing, humming sort of sound. You know that sound that light sabers make when they’re not actively clashing against one another. That super annoying, almost bug zapper like sound? Yes. That.… Read More
The Frozen Moon 