Helpless.

Once again in my parenting career, that’s exactly how I felt.  No words could ease my daughter’s pain.  No band aid could heal the wound.   A hug couldn’t stop the fear.  Not even the promise of a giant cream-filled donut could make a dent in he… Read full post »

A few years ago, when our youngest daughter was just four, she tip-toed into my bedroom on the morning of Valentine’s Day as I was getting dressed to go to work.  She had caught me in one of those hurried intervals, somewhere between packing lunches and signing 4^th… Read full post »

 It felt like it came out of nowhere.  I had been struggling to find it for years, trying to reach this place, arrive at this moment. But I wasn’t expecting it – at least not then.

I had been valiantly searching for the little kernels.  The perfect… Read full post »

Last fall, I visited my mom in Wyoming.  She used the opportunity to do some major house cleaning - which included the passing on of a lifetime of paper treasures.  Every finger painting, mother’s day card, letter to Santa, and term paper I had ever creat… Read full post »

 For the past two weeks, my brain has been in overdrive.  It doesn’t matter if I’m standing on the sidelines of a soccer game, waiting in the check-out at the grocery store, or chatting with friends on Facebook.  I am in 100% survival mode.

Like most around… Read full post »

When you wake up in the morning, nothing will have changed but somehow it feels like everything will be different.  There is so much anticipation in your voice when you speak of turning twelve, so much desire to be a young man instead of my… Read full post »

 When I say “I’ll keep you in my thoughts…”

I mean that when I'm driving alone in the car

And a song comes on that makes me pause

That says the things that I could not… Read full post »

Last night, I sat and watched our 9 year-old daughter’s last game of the indoor soccer season.  I watched the Funky Freaks, her team, get defeated by the Tie-Dye All Stars. 8-4.  And I cried.

As much as I love a good victory,… Read full post »

 I’m sitting in the gym at a local community college.  It’s dark outside, early on a Saturday morning when most kids are still asleep.  A late winter snow made the 6AM drive through the cornfields of Michigan’s Amish countr… Read full post »

I was born with an imperfect heart.

It wasn’t until I was 22, and I mentioned the heaviness I felt acros… Read full post »

The Earth shakes so violently that it shifts on its axis. Once again people scramble into the streets, leaving behind the remnants of home.  The photographs and the family heirlooms buried deep beneath piles of rubble.  The crayon drawings, once presented so proudly, now b… Read full post »

When I was 9, if someone had asked, “Do you feel loved?” 

I would have answered, “Yes.” 

Tip-toe love.

Impatient lov… Read full post »

Poor Curling - it's the punching bag of the Winter Olympics.  It's the sport people love to make fun of,… Read full post »

Do you ever wonder how Olympic dreams are born? 

Sometimes, they are born out of fancy training centers, pricey coaches, and high tech equipment.  Sometimes, they are born in backyards, by kids dressed in h… Read full post »

So there we were, my husband and I, watching the Super Bowl.

Surrounded by a giant bowl of chips and bottles of Bell’s Brown Ale. 

Trying to recover from the spectacle that was Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend pretending that they are still virile rock stars. 

Hop… Read full post »

Last night, I read a great post by MoniqueC titled Red Lentils.   I love her writing style. I don't remember ever reading one of h… Read full post »

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, our 11 year-old son will report to the school cafeteria, calculator and middle school ID in hand. He&rsqu… Read full post »

This morning, I was reading froggy's post about her wish that her daughter could hold on to the imaginary world where she often lives.  It's a beautiful piece and reminded me so much of my own daughter, Alice.

Alice is seven, a little elf of a girl.  It's hard to describe h… Read full post »

There are two things you need to know before I get started. 

1)      The last time I wore lipstick out of the house, I wa… Read full post »

Good morning, Dad.   

It’s amazing how quiet it is after they all leave the house, isn’t it?… Read full post »

She hadn’t been home for more than an hour when I heard the clink, clink, clink from her kitchen. Dishes being rearranged.  Reclaiming the space I had kept safe for her. Everything back just where it belonged.  No pause for a thank you. 

Clink, clink, clink. 

I didn'… Read full post »

                                      &nbs… Read full post »

                       … Read full post »

Dear Melissa, 

It’s your 4^th birthday today.  What good luck that Mrs. Picke… Read full post »