“I am not homeschooling your kids,” my college roommate said to her husband. My former roommate and I met up every month or so (with our spouses in tow) for a game night. We were all newlyweds with no kids. But to us, this epic argument about where our kids would go to school was…
My tired body seemed to lift itself onto the table. I placed my head on the pillow, sank into the cushions, and released a long-needed sigh. As an act of self-care, I’d found myself in the studio of an esthetician, preparing to be pampered. As I drew a deep, slow breath, my mind wandered to…
No more is the 30-foot-long table of homemade dishes from turkey and dressing to casseroles to deviled eggs. Gone will be waiting to eat because of that one cousin, one of the oldest, who would roll in consistently thirty minutes late. Also missing this year will be the catching up, the reaching for the name…
We ate steak at the fanciest place in town, me and my sister, our husbands, and our parents. Around the table, we joined Mom’s reminiscing. We retold our favorite stories of family vacations and holidays. We revealed some silly childhood secrets. And we listened to Mom’s stories from fifty years she and Dad spent together….
This year, I have been reading through the Bible in exactly the way people tell you not to, from front to back. This is not some holier-than-thou hero effort; it’s simply that I just don’t need any more multitasking in my life right now. I have young children, and I just don’t think I can…
“Achoo!” We turned the corner of our neighborhood walking trail as my nine-year-old daughter let loose a sneeze. “Bless you,” I said. “Thanks, Mom.” And then—from the mouths of babes. “The spring is so pretty, with all the green leaves and flowers. The only problem is the pollen. Why does it ruin our spring?” Why,…