Leaving perfectionism behind
You don't know me yet, but you will. You're going to know me as the one who makes cookies and lets you lick the spoon, the one who tells funny stories about your mom, and the one who gets wrinkles at the corners of her eyes when she laughs. I hope you love my cookies …
Continue reading "A round-trip ticket to colorfully sketched places"
I would not wish you small again, not for all the tea in China. Your chubby little arms that circled my neck every morning when I lifted you from your crib forever softened my spirit. The baby-lotioned scent of your weight in my arms and the love-struck sound of my own off-key …
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but then pictures don't always tell the whole story, which is something I have learned on social media. We say we're keeping it real when we post our “nailed it" photos of the three-tiered cake we tried to bake for Grandma's birthday, or when …
Continue reading "No one wants to see all that, not even the Russians"
You were born with love in your heart and fire in your soul, and don't you ever forget it. You were born with love in your heart to share with those who will love you back. Those who will laugh and cry with you, and want to be with you most of all. …
There are no destinations in life, only journeys. I thought I was just getting a small bite of dark chocolate goodness to finish off my brown bag lunch, but it would seem I was in store for a whole lot more. I licked the chocolate off my finger as I read that Dove wrapper and …
I am tired of trying so hard to be ... enough. It wasn't always this way. When I was little, I knew I was enough. I felt it all the way from my crooked front tooth down to my curly pinky toes. My mom told me I was enough, and I believed her. My dad …
Until that point, we had not promised forever. We had not created that official triune of me and him and God that was to be fused together by a lifetime of joy and warmth and trouble and pain. There I stood before God and everyone, dressed in white and obscured by a veil, vowing …
Continue reading "Hundreds of victories and thousands of defeats"
I’ve always known I don’t have all the answers, and that’s exactly why I cower in fear whenever somebody suggests attending a Trivia Night. I mean, I don’t really care that the largest three-digit prime number is 997. I would’ve been happy to spend the rest of my life in darkness. Every time …
If you have ever carried her life within yours and picked out her name and wondered what color of eyes she would have and what kind of a difference she would make in the world, you are a hero. If you have ever watched your waistline expand or developed stretch marks on your hips and …
It all started in 1917, although I wouldn’t show up for another 60 years or so. I have to admit I don’t think about it very often. It was just an old, brick building on the other side of town. I had to walk there every day, not uphill or in a blizzard, but sometimes …
Continue reading "You never know what’s going to shape a child’s life"
Shaking My Dust 