Initially, my instructions were, “don’t fill your boots with water.” I say this to my daughter as she rolls a Tonka truck toward an irresistible puddle and eyes me — sizing up how much she’ll get away with. It’s cute, isn’t it, how I’ve been a mother for almost nine years, and I still think...
I run through rows of corn taller than my twelve-year-old frame. The fuzzy, prickly stalks pull at my arms and legs and, occasionally slice like a paper cut into my skin. Somewhere, deep within the tidy rows, a bare circle of ground hides like an accidental fort…that magical spot where the tractor turned around and...
I am up at 1:00 am to the sound of my daughter coughing. I find her stumbling, half-asleep toward my bedroom. She’s scooped into my arms and placed quietly back into bed. A hand to her forehead, then a thermometer. The fever pulsing through her body for nearly a week fights on. I stumble downstairs,...
From the first petal in spring to the last leaf of autumn, my daughter loves showering me with “flowers.” Nothing is too humble or lowly for her notice and admiration. Weeds, blades of grass, and the most ornate flowers equally receive her doting and delight. Still, she surprises me. When winter sets in and the...
I look back on my early days of motherhood and marvel at their passing. How many times did an older mom say, “it goes so fast.” It does and it doesn’t. Those years were long and hard. And yet, now that they’re behind me, I feel those older-mom words burning a hole in my retrospective heart — it goes so fast.
I miss writing and telling stories. The last few years really sucked the creative energy out of me and somewhere along the way, I decided I don’t have anything to say — anything worth saying, worth reading, anything that hasn’t already been written or read. Be that as it may, I miss words and stories....
I’ve been pulling my camera out more this year, trying to notice and remember all the little details that make up our days. On Saturday, everyone was grumpy and irritable. The kids were fighting and falling apart about absolutely everything. The house was a disaster and I was done with all of it. At one...
Central Massachusetts This is a strange situation we find ourselves in, isn’t it? At the beginning of March, my family took a trip to Florida. We arrived home ten days later and the world seemed to be upside down. I remember going to the grocery store to restock our fridge and pantry, thinking I’d be...
Central Massachusetts Last night, as I put my five-year-old son to bed, he told me he’d had a good day. I agreed, it’d been a good day. He went on to tell me that every day his heart is broken but today was a good day because he saw my joy and wanted to follow...
Central Massachusetts Not the Plan I’ve never wanted to homeschool my kids. I was home schooled myself and really didn’t like it. So I’ve forever been determined to do something different with my own family. But it goes without saying that life doesn’t always go as planned. Without delving into all the ins and out...