Life Beyond To-Do Lists

It’s early morning as I write these words, far too early for most of humanity on this side of the hemisphere to be up and stumbling about their kitchen, searching for coffee. To-do lists are swirling in my brain, and my fingers are itching to set ideas to paper,...

Muscle Shirts, Athletic Pants and Picture Day

On the morning of Picture Day, I found myself standing over my son as he lay sprawled across the carpet in utter despair. You see, I suggested he wear his blue-checked button down shirt with the coordinating puffy vest. He looks so very dapper, so handsome, so like a...

The Last Time

Peering into the mailbox, my eyes sought out the object that was wedged just a little too tightly to slide out without a serious tug. A children’s book. As I wriggled it free, my eyes teared up. It was the last book my newly-minted five-year-old would receive...

When You Are Quietly Drowning

Drowning. It isn’t like the movies – no flailing arms, no loud screaming, no thrashing about. Instead, it is insidiously quiet. Drowning is a silent struggle, without wild movements to draw attention, and ends with the victim simply, finally slipping under...

When You Need a Little Boost

“Mom, give me a little boost,” my son instructed me. He was newly off training wheels and had just graduated to a bigger bike. I steered my bike closer, bent down and gripped his handle bar as he put his feet on his pedals and took off, determined to catch...