Tag: family
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Herding Cats
The other night, I had my three kids post in mind. I asked the children if they would like to eat dinner outdoors. I partly did this because the evening weather was beautiful. I mostly did this because it seemed way too hard to convince the three of them to come indoors and clean up…
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I Am Still Here
It has been weighing on me that I have not been writing much lately. I have been unsure what I could possibly respectfully and sanely share during a weird, transitional sort of time in my life. But not writing does not do much for me either, so I am just kind of…writing. This change from…
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The Spaces Between
Please bear with me. This is a sad post, and it is an attempt to process my grief a little. If you hate complaining, don’t read it. But this is the part I would not have chosen. The part where my kids are going to be gone half the time, all the time. It struck…
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Calculating My Weighted Parenting GPA
There are times, as a parent, when I feel like I’m doing a good job, and I happily give myself an A. Child spills milk all over the table when I am about to finally sit down. “It’s OK. Here is a rag.” Mind says: You stayed calm. No big deal. Good. See, you are…
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Laughing When Life Is Stinky
There are many unknowns in this life. It is reassuring that you can always make a seven year old crack up when you use “toilet” or “stinky” in Mad Libs. I learned several years ago that once you become a parent, you don’t get to grieve, not really. When my grandmother passed away, I wanted…
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![Perfect [Bleep] Storm](http://shortwinded.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_2338-200x200.jpg)
Perfect [Bleep] Storm
I grew up camping. Many of my favorite early memories involve sleeping in tents by some lake or river somewhere, with my parents, two siblings, and dog (see Go Home Lassie, You Are Drunk). In my mind, these trips were relaxing, easy peasy, simple. We’d eat sandwiches in the dust and swim in the [insert…
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She Needs Groceries: Written Version
I remember those days clearly. There Iād be, shopping in Target with all of my disposable income, buying something frivolous, like a CD or a new toothbrush when my current one was two and a half months old. And then, bam! My peace would be shattered by a shopping cart full of wailing toddlers. Or…
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The Fairy Princess Surprise
Dear Noah, I am going to tell you about a certain incident that happened in your babyhood. I want to tell you now, so that we can get proper mileage out of it in years to come. I don’t want your high school graduation or your wedding to be the first time you hear about…
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Sweeter than I Expected
I think I was looking forward to the wrong things. When I found out Selah was going to be a girl, I was thrilled. I know, I’m a terrible feminist, but I couldn’t wait to dress her up in pretty clothes. It was going to be like having my very own living doll! People gave…
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Joy is Now
Tomorrow is Asher’s birthday. He’ll be four. I had a moment the other day when I remembered his first birthday. On July 13, 2010, I woke up at the exact time he had been born, one year prior. I woke up so angry and sad. And I wrote about it. I used to blog on…