Mud Pits & Walls
Nursing my baby like clockwork at four a.m., I rested my head back against the glider and groggily thought how wonderful it would be to have a child born at two years old, so she could sleep twelve hours and
Being the Hands of Jesus
My three daughters and I took a walk this week to look at a nest I’d found on a hike the week before. It was a simple nest, woven around such a spindly branch, it seemed impossible it could support the
Laughing in Life’s Storms
They released my six-year-old early from school because the forecast predicted a storm. My daughter mentioned it as soon as she came home, but then she forgot. She went outside to play in the sandbox. Five minutes later, she tore across
The Older Woman I Want to Be
This morning, I took my two eldest daughters to swim at the YMCA because I did not want to spend the rainy day all cooped up in the house. My girls squealed and splashed as they entered the water. My six-year-old
It’s a Wonderful World
After supper, the five of us sat on the couch and watched YouTube videos of famous songs like “It’s a Wonderful World,” “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” and “Annie’s Song” by John Denver, which was the song my husband and I
Monitoring My Heart
You will always believe you’re free from fear until something crops up to try to change your mind. This week, I was about to dish up supper when I realized the barbecue chicken legs were still bloody inside. It was already
The Beauty of Flu Season
A few years ago, in Wisconsin, a woman with five daughters said she never experienced such closeness to her children as when she took care of them when they were ill. I remember looking into the mother’s face and seeing nostalgia
The Snail Shell of the Soul
I heard a thunk and returned to the kitchen. My two eldest daughters stood at the patio door and stared down at a female cardinal outside on its back. Its large, orange beak opened and closed as snow flurries clung
What I Want to Be This Year
The other night, after a long day with the girls, I took a walk around our land. Halfway through, on a hillside near where we want to build our home, I stretched across the grass in my down coat and
Who’s Immortal Now?
My husband and I silently sat in our wooden booth, waiting for our breakfast to arrive. It was only 10 o’clock, but we’d been awake for five hours and were still trying to process what the neurosurgeon had said. Though my husband’s