Mama Love
It is her birthday today, my Mama. And also, Elvis’s. I always have to do the math. Mom had me when she was 30… I am 43… that makes her 73 today. 73 years is a long time to be loved unconditionally, and yet my Mom has always been up to the task. We may […]
Missing the Heart of Home
I remember this feeling from summers spent at CYO Camp Rancho Framasa. Lying in my sleeping bag at night, sweating, scratching mosquito bites on my legs, peeling the sunburn from my nose, and feeling the little, nagging ball of pain in the corner of my stomach. Homesick. Camp days were filled to overflowing with crafts […]
Brown County Memories
On the heels of a most wonderful Thanksgiving family reunion in Brown County, Indiana, I’ve been thinking a great deal about my childhood, my family, my sister, my cousins (pictured here), my grandparents. We’re a unique clan, the Andersons. Our individual personalities are as vast and different as the leaves in our beloved Brown County […]
A Homecoming
Ever since we moved to Mississippi in July, I’ve been floundering through my days, trying to make my way. I’ve been detached, untethered, a kite bouncing around in the wind, the child at the other end distracted and uninterested. This weekend, that changed. It was the Cotton District Arts Festival and Super Bulldog Weekend in […]
Going… Going… Gone
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. For those of you who haven’t yet been privy to my shameless self-promotion in the Notes & Words essay contest, I’m one of the five finalists. I’m honored, thrilled, nauseous, eager to hear the announcement of the winner — which, incidentally, was moved to TOMORROW. Our non-refundable tickets […]
Home Churching
We joke about “home churching” our kids when friends ask us about our religious beliefs. “Home churching is a lot like home schooling,” we explain. “Except that diagramming sentences takes a back seat to God.” But a quick conversation with my BFF this morning made me think a great deal about why this truly has […]