All my life I’ve run the hamster wheel of achievement and acceptance; a headstrong, type-A control freak, looking for love. As a child I earned love by working hard to fit in. At church I earned love by memorizing verses. At school I earned love by pleasing teachers. Looking back, I see a girl in…
Our family lives in the Rocky Mountain Region, a region of extremes. When my husband and I, our three children, and their families get together, we often discuss our preparedness for emergency situations. What if it were necessary to build a fire with no matches? Which one of us is best suited to stitching up…
I was sitting at my desk recently, fighting back anxiety, when I caught myself longing for the past, for “simpler times.” The stress of work, the surge of COVID, and launching a book were weighing on me, and I mumbled in my head, “If only I was back in college or in my early years…
Once, when my daughter was in Vacation Bible School, she came home sad and despondent. I asked her what had happened, it was highly unusual for a girl who finds adventure and fun in everything to be down. She said that they sang a song that made her mad. What in the world was going…
Six years ago, I made a mistake. I was most of the way through my second pregnancy when things went a little haywire with my blood pressure. The doctor gave me a day or two to see if we could get things under control, but when I went back for a check-up, he walked into…
I’ve heard people talk about “getting back to normal” so many times in the past few months. It’s what we’re supposed to do after something difficult or tragic or out of the ordinary. We’re supposed to move on from the challenging time and live like it never happened. But I’m not sure what “normal” even…