Two States, Three Years

Storm

Moving to two different states within three years is rife with challenges. The biggest one for me? Bigger, even, than finding new doctors and supermarkets and navigating school politics and back roads? Loneliness. Gus and I sat by ourselves at Sam’s first lacrosse game last week. I wasn’t sure which crowd was ours because I […]

Coffee with a Toddler

Gus

I got to have coffee with a toddler this morning. Well, I had coffee and she, a juice box. My fabulous new friend, Michelle and I talked for two hours while her daughter calmly went about the business of coloring and nibbling on a blueberry muffin. “Does the time really go that quickly?” Michelle asked. […]

Cultivating Home

Kids Walking on the Beach

As my little Baby Blog grows up and my readership increases, I expose myself to more support… and more criticism. I think that’s why bloggers start small and build a loyal following — first your friends and relatives love and encourage you (well, most of them), and then your audience expands. When the dissension begins, […]

New Kids on the Block

Mary Claire in an MSU Hoodie

Mary Claire and I attended the mandatory call-out meeting for all eighth grade athletes yesterday. We found the junior high, signed in, and sat down among a sea of chatty new teenagers and their equally chatty parents. “Do you see anyone you know?” I asked, casually trying to lighten the mood as we swam in […]

Birthday Girl

Mary Claire

Dear Mary Claire, Twelve years! It’s a bit much to wrap my brain around. You arrived on this earth twelve years ago — a beautiful bundle of pink to shake up our baby blue home. I was the only one who knew you were a girl. Dad didn’t want to know — he always preferred […]

The Year of Being

Welcome to Starkville Banner

365 days. That’s a lot of time. Time to think, time to reflect, time to laugh, to cry, to fall to your knees, to dust yourself off and start anew. It’s a great many sunrises and sunsets, dinners and lunches, books checked off the “must read” list, novels written and edited. It’s one more school […]

Hello, Muddah. Hello, Faddah.

It’s eerily quiet here this week. After attending a gorgeous Willis Family Farm wedding — which, by the way, made my personal wedding “Top 5” ranking — (congrats to the beautiful newlyweds, Beth and Jake), and after staying at the fabulous Tyner Pond Farm where we got to herd pigs (yes, details forthcoming), we left […]

Adaptation

Ten short months ago, we received word that Mississippi State University wanted Chris. (Cue the Billy Squier music.) Ten short months ago, we broke the news to the kids. Sam and Gus smiled nervously and nodded their tentative approval, George bit back tears, Mary Claire exploded into full-on, body-thrashing, vitriol-spewing anger. “Nooooooooo!!!!” she screamed as […]

And… They’re Off!

Kids on Their First Day of School

Today, they’re officially Yellow Jackets. New schools, new uniforms, new system, new state, new lunch codes, new student IDs. Sam is less than thrilled with his uniform. Collars? Shorts with buttons and zippers? You might as well ask him to wear a hairshirt. The second he spotted an untucked shirt at the high school, his […]