Turn, Turn, Turn
Yesterday was the release of My Other Ex: Women’s True Stories of Leaving and Losing Friends. It’s a beautiful collection, penned by many gifted writers. What an honor it is to share these pages with them. I’ve been so privileged to be included in two inspiring 2014 anthologies. My cup runneth over. Of course, as […]
#Ferguson Thoughts
I don’t know what happened in the Michael Brown case. I’m not privy to all the evidence. But here’s what I do know… I have a son who is almost 18. Like most Mama Bears, I love him with a ferocity that still steals my breath. He is tall and strong and athletic and potentially […]
All Creatures Great and Small
We just wrapped up a couple of fun, family-filled days in the Windy City. It was our Last Blast of Summer — a little mini get-away before the kids begin the 2014/15 school year. We loaded up the Navigator — with 23 DVDs for our 4-hour trip — and established the ground rules: 1) No […]
From the NICU to the Open Road #TBT
Gus is getting his driver’s permit in two days. His annual NICU reunion takes place in seven more. Six days after that, he’ll be a high school sophomore. Today’s Throwback Thursday post goes all the way back to his fragile beginning, his precarious start, when we measured time in seconds, not days. He serves, always, […]
Give Her a Face
America, I’m worried. I’ve been reading day in and day out about the Central American refugee children in Texas, and it seems so many of us have forgotten our hearts. There are those who will argue my use of the term “refugee,” but I stand firmly behind it. When mothers choose to send their babies […]
Whether We Stay
One year ago, we moved into our home in an older, established neighborhood. For the most part, kids have grown and gone, and their nearly or newly retired parents remain. A few younger families dot the tree-lined landscape. One of the first questions many of our new neighbors asked us when we moved in was, […]
An Abundance of Sad
One of my dearest, most beloved high school friends lost his father last week. A devastating loss exacerbated by the fact that my friend’s father — after a lifelong battle with depression — chose to take his own life. Left in his wake are shocked, grieving, devastated, angry family members and friends, trying to make […]
For Reals
My 13-year-old daughter has a vernacular all her own. She “feels all the feels” and validates her experiences because they’re “for reals.” She punctuates her sentences with acronyms and wild hand gestures and dramatic facial expressions. When she trips on the sidewalk, she asks, “How do you walk?” That particular phrasing carries over into everything […]
Radical Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ~ Mark Twain Forgiveness has been on my mind lately. You see, I’m not very good at it. I wrote a ridiculously long blog post about it yesterday — one that was more like an extended self-therapy session. No one […]
Enough – My Messy Beautiful
My relationship with food and with my body is complicated, slippery, broken. My ability to deal with it from a place of reason and intellect waxes and wanes. No matter how it may or may not manifest itself, I will always have an eating disorder. Just as rape is not about sex, eating disorders are […]