Long ago, my husband’s wise grandmother mentioned that “you never stop being a parent.” Her comment caused me to pause. At the time, I was deep in the trenches of navigating life with very young children. What does it look like to parent an adult? It took me twenty years to live into the truth […]
How I See Roots Blooming With New Life
As I sit in the quiet with the windows open, the sounds outside remind me of the changes in my sphere. My neighbor plays her recorder with abandon on this first day of the school year. Suddenly, my mind jumps back to several years ago in this same house. I listened to each of my […]
Why I am Thankful for Navigating Our Story With My Kids
Recently, I retraced the steps of my childhood. However, walking the territory with my young adult children by my side became a whole new experience. Something profound happens when your kids see, taste, and feel the places that shape your life. This wasn’t the first time, we ventured into the town of my paternal roots […]
Pondering What Our Kid’s Birthdays Really Represent
Nothing really prepared me for the way my kids’ birthday celebrations change when they become young adults. Those long eighteen years of child rearing are filled with “in the trenches” moments which flood the senses. Excitement, disappointment, joy, anger, and humor churn through a parent’s being in the course of any given day. Sometimes, it […]
The Stories my Sandals Long to Share
I love my shoes. My eyes initially spotted them in an advertisement in my social media feed. Truthfully, it wasn’t completely a coinicidence that they showed up in the midst of my scrolling. My buying habits are not secretive to the bots monitoring my digital life. I can’t hide from the reminders of my sketchers […]
Trusting God Under a Broom Tree
I am slowly emerging from under my broom tree. Truthfully, they don’t grow in the middle of suburban Illinois so the broom trees in my yard resemble Oak trees. However, metaphorically speaking, they served the same purpose for me: a place to crash in exhaustion from the overwhelming emotions pouring through my veins. I found […]
