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Mother’s Day 2022
It’s been a crazy, busy weekend, yet a blessed and incredible affirmation of the value of all that I have invested over the years, and even still today. I’ve never been an easy mother, but I’ve loved and devoted myself to each human God has placed in my care, whether born from my womb or otherwise. There are few investments into humanity that can change the world more than our wholehearted and sacrificial investment into rearing children that will grow into adults that care about other humans, who know the value of hard work and are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of others. It’s quite an adventure at times,…
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Remembering Brendan (3/24/1990-3/12/2011)
He was a preteen when we met; daring and feisty with a true dislike for being told what to do. As challenging as he may have been in those years I was married to his father, there was an endearing soft side that emerged when others were in need or he was helping with his littlest sister. I can still remember his smile, the way he could do almost anything he set his mind to, and how excited he was to get his driver’s license on his sixteenth birthday. He was generally messy, enjoyed junk food far more than any person should and would argue about the silliest things, yet…
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Only the Best
Tonight as I was feeding my littlest miss and cutting up her broccoli, I paused to consider what I was doing. I think most probably prefer the broccoli flower over the stem, though for me it goes beyond preference. I love broccoli, but I don’t want to eat broccoli stems and it’s crazy annoying to open a bag of broccoli only to see that half the bag is stems. I willingly pay more to avoid this disappointment. Yet, as I was cutting up broccoli for the miss, I was giving her all the flower and eating the stems myself. It’s what I always do. Sure it’s a trivial act of…
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Are you Living Like You’re in the Army?
There used to be an ad for the Army that suggested enlisted individuals do more before nine a.m. than most people do all day, with the tagline “Be all that you can be”. I suppose the ad was intended to inspire, but it just made me feel guilty, like I really needed to step up my game if I didn’t want to be like all those other slovenly Americans. It probably sounds a bit ridiculous, but the truth is I’ve always carried this oppressive feeling I had to prove myself, driving me to become this perfectionistic, over-achiever that rarely rested. In my mind, I was singing Ethel Mermen, “Anything you…
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To be a Woman
Its an unusual time in our world. Everything is changing; our role in society is constantly evolving, we are maturing and aging, yet our lives are never really any better, just different. As women, we’re torn between so many responsibilities and still must go home to cook dinner when the day is over. We have children to care for, though our efforts are so often mediocre at best, after everything else is done. We dreamed of love and marriage as little girls, but are disillusioned and divorced, single and broken-hearted. We gave our love too quickly, before we even knew his heart. The feminists say it’s our right, we can…
