Finding the Joy

Life is tiring right now. It’s good, but tiring. That quote that says, “The days are long, but the years are short”, when referencing child rearing, feels especially true right now. It seems so odd that we have these lives where we can do and experience so many incredible things– yet we devote most of…

Formula

I had to stop breastfeeding when the baby was 5 weeks oldI say had to, but really, it was a choiceThat’s what motherhood is– choice after choice after choiceHow will I mother in this moment?How will I respond to the things that are out of my control today? I had to decided to stop breastfeeding…

Vow Renewal

An excerpt from the book I’m working on- prose and essays on motherhood. The first timeA short service On a crisp spring dayStars in our eyesPromises on our lipsI doAnd I do, too The second timeA 3-day ceremonySoundtracked by tears and breaths In perfect synchronyWorking to bring our creationEarthside and into our arms The third time Standing in…

Macaroni and Cheese

People talk about the big moments of parenting. The things your spouse will do that make you fall more in or out of love with them as you embark on the daily practice of raising a child together. There are the obvious moments I feel more in love. Watching him cradle our infant just minutes…

Dear Jehovah’s Witness

I love getting snail mail so I was pleasantly surprised to get home from work today and see a handwritten letter addressed to me. After a quick glimpse at the return address with no recognition, I wondered what baby shower, bridal shower, or engagement party invitation lay awaiting inside.  Turns out it was a little more important…

Dirty Thirty

Last week I entered a new decade. Turning thirty wasn’t as traumatic as I had always imagined it would be. In fact, it felt like a natural transition– I was ready to look back on my twenties with gratitude and gracefully step away from them. My twenties were fun, really fun! They were full of self-discovery, scuba…

Chilly Dog

My sleepwalking stories these days have been few and far between. I still sleeptalk several times per week, but I don’t seem to be getting up and doing bizarre things as much. Last week, I did exclaim in my sleep, “I’m INFP, I’m INFP, I’m INFP, I’m INFP”, which I directly attribute to going on…

Replacing Empathy With Superiority

A trending news story right now is a tragic one, as most seem to be these days. In Cincinnati, a 4-year old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure at the zoo, and after being dragged around by the 400-pound gorilla for 10 minutes, the zoo made the decision to shoot and kill him. The gorilla, not…

I Thought You Were Dead

Twenty minutes Waiting and pacing Tears Worst fears I thought you were dead The story, it broke in synch with my heart News from afar, a tragic loss by far The words jumped from the page, coiled around my neck constricting my breathing I’m a complete wreck Plane crash Afghanistan 14 dead Your company Its name There in bold on…