My Partner in Life, Not Just in Parenting
Three years ago, I took my firstborn daughter for a walk when it was ten degrees. I bundled her up in an Eskimo snowsuit and wrapped one of my scarves around the lower half of her face, so that you
Parents Passing on the Sidewalks of Life
My four-year-old daughter and I were walking on the sidewalk when a parade of motorcycles started roaring by. With each one, she cried, “Wow!” At first, I smiled, loving her enthusiasm, but after thirty or so motorcycles, it wasn't as
I’m Going to Cherish Every Moment (Even If It Kills Me)
I became one of those moms last night, with the toddler throwing herself down across the entryway to the store, causing patrons to pause as they looked from her to me and then back down at her, unsure if they
Shedding Our Papier-mâché Skins
I scooted over, to make room for my daughters on the bench, and my sandals brushed black, orthopedic shoes. I glanced to the right and saw the disabled man, slumped in the chair, with a pair of dark sunglasses and
“Mom! Look at me!” Learning To Focus On My Child’s Face
For the past few months, I've noticed that my almost four-year-old daughter, Miss A, has a floating eye. It usually only happens when she’s tired or so into a story—where expressive hand motions abound—that she has trouble focusing on my
Motherhood Never Ends
I awoke to light outside, meaning I’d overslept my alarm. My two little cherubs awoke soon after I did, so I had to forfeit my morning ritual of making peanut butter toast and French-pressed coffee, which I nibble and sip
Can’t See The Pine Cones For The Logged Trees
Covered with an awning to protect her from the unseasonably warm sun, my three-year-old sat inside the stroller like a mini Queen of Sheba. She wanted to know what the yellow thing was in the field (a combine) or the
A Lesson From Tolling Bells
I was in the park with my daughters this week when the courthouse bells chimed, announcing that it was twelve o’ clock. My heart constricted with a strange longing, and though I at first had no idea why, I soon
A Gift, Restored
It started out, as in all things in this present age, with a YouTube video. I was folding a pile of whites when my husband beckoned me over to his computer and said, “I’d like to do this one day.” A
What Happens One Hour Before Putting Kids To Bed
Last night was a doozie. The kind of night where my husband and I came downstairs and just looked at each other with wide eyes and then grinned, as if shocked that we'd somehow made it through the Apocalypse (otherwise known