The Compost Jar of The Mind
I was sitting in a patch of sunlight warming the kitchen table—pumping milk, listening to classical music on Pandora, and reading an article about being a kind mama. Garbanzo beans were cooking on the stove that I was later going
Time For This
A bald eagle screeched in the distance. A derelict silo broke up the horizon’s striated hues of blue, purple, and pink. My boots sunk into the melted slush covering the dirt road. My four-month-old nestled against me, bundled between my
Valley of Dry Bones
We sat across from each other—our sick four-month-old in my lap, our sick toddler having a meltdown in the living room, a delicious meal before us that I had not prepared. My shorn husband looked so unlike the fierce protector
A New Foundation
I clean blood from behind my husband’s ears with our daughters’ tearless shampoo. Muddy shoes on the front porch, his truck parked where he left it after planting apple trees, putting his t-shirts away and then wearing one just so
The Day That Will Forever Mark Our World
“Where are you?” the nurse asked, shining a flashlight into my husband’s eyes. “La Crosse, Wisconsin.” He winced. “The hospital.” “And why are you here?” “I have a brain tumor,” he said. I turned away—eyes stinging—and stared down at the wet street,
Marriage: Handle With Care
This week, I thought I became a widow. My husband and father-in-law were outside, jacking up the shipping container holding almost all our worldly possessions, when I heard a tremendous crash. I was in the midst of packing my closet, and
A Sign To A Woman Who’s Given Up On Signs
Somewhere between graduating from college and giving birth to my first child, many of my life’s questions were answered, and so I stopped searching the cosmos for signs. If the light turned green before I had to tap my brake, it
Embarking On “The Great Perhaps”
Packing this week for our move to a solar-powered farm in Wisconsin, I discovered a clear freezer bag stuffed with emails to and from my long-distance fiance; emails that I had printed off in my dorm room before I graduated
Five Things I’m Determined To Do Differently With My Second-Born
This week, tending my newborn daughter in the small hours, I contemplated everything I did with my firstborn that I would like to do differently with my second. Miraculously, I only came up with a list of five. If you'd
For Better or . . . For Change
This past weekend, my sister-in-law let us each take a personality quiz on her computer. I got a great kick out of standing behind my husband’s shoulder and mentally (and sometimes verbally) agreeing or disagreeing as he selected various choices. Earlier,