An Open Letter to the Grieving – from the Body of Christ Part One: Permission To the grieving, the afflicted, the soul-sorrowed, the broken-hearted and the burdened: We see you. We acknowledge that your grief is real, personal, and life-changing. We accept and understand that no two people on the planet grieve in exactly the […]
held fast
Here we are again. The slow unfurling of green brightens the view out our windows and Mother’s Day is looming large on the horizon. We know what this means. We know social media will overflow with flowers and cards with handprints and breakfast in bed and spilled juice and smushy-jam-faced selfies. I know you began […]
mother {daughter}
I am a daughter. This Mother’s Day (and every one that came before and will come after) I am a daughter. I am the product of three women (and countless others) who raised, molded and shaped me into the woman I am today. I am the woman these three women gave selflessly for, chose to […]
A Way Back
I felt fifteen again. I knew, on some abstract level, that flying home to the west coast to say our farewells to my mother would bring back memories of losing my first mother nearly twenty years earlier. What I wasn’t expecting was the rush of raw, uncensored memory and then, as my brother and […]
nineteen
I walk slow circles in the fallen snow. The silence of falling flakes is broken by the crunch of layer upon layer of compacted, frozen white. A puppy dances around my legs, biting excitedly at my bootlaces and nosing holes in the fluffy snow. I’m thinking about my mom. It’s January, so I do that. […]
{advent: week three} Not Forgotten
Photo Credit: Jon Beall I don’t think it was until the third year of our Advent celebration as a married couple that I started to struggle as much with the Christmas season. In the years prior, I thought “who knows where we’ll be at this time next year?” However, by the third year, my thoughts […]
Not Just Baby
I am infertile. My body? It can’t do this thing that so many women around me do… conceive, swell, deliver, nurse, cradle, comfort. My body cannot feel a swift kick in the ribs; my ears can’t hear the gooey rush of a heartbeat on an ultra sound; my feet cannot swell with water retention; my […]
Dear Me
Some friends and I spent some time this week writing letters to our teenage selves, as part of Emily Freeman’s launch of her new book, Graceful. I only intended to have some fun with it but the exercise proved to be a walk down memory lane I wasn’t prepared to take. Enjoy. Dear Teenage Me, […]
Still
Archie – September 2, 2011 I am stretched thin across the dining room floor, belly and chest against the unforgiving floor. An arm to support my head, the other pulling slow arcs of comfort across the back of my struggling kitten. The house is dark and still but for the whirr and hum of cooling […]
Week 16
Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you had as enjoyable day as we did here. It was a rather blustery day… perfect for running minimal errands, enjoying a lovely dinner with family and generally staying in where it is warm. And enjoying the ones you love. And, of course, to take a few photos. I actually […]