family

  • My dog, the teenager

    My dog, the teenager. I have had a dog for almost two weeks, and I am trying to reconcile the nature of our relationship. I’m not my dog’s Mom, certainly, but there are elements of Mom-ness that I must incorporate into our exchanges so that everything in the house runs smoothly. Being the mother means…

  • Pineapple, orange soda, chicken salad

    I rounded the corner of the produce aisle, almost done with my hectic Christmas food shopping trip when I felt my mother. She was pointing me toward a display of whole pineapples and urging me to bring one to the family gathering on Christmas Day. I have learned to listen to that still, inner voice,…

  • Last Day

    Given the choice, how would you spend the last day of your life?  On November 2nd, 2012, we were told that our Christmas-loving, enthusiastically gift-giving mother had very little time left.  Dealing with end-stage ovarian cancer, we had hoped she would make it to enjoy her favorite holiday.  She had already online-shopped for all of…

  • Boy

    I am sitting on my son’s bed, listening to him play on his keyboard with such expression, it makes me shake my head at the beauty. A lifetime of experiences has brought him to the point of playing this way. Piano lessons, yes, but also a passion for movies and their music, the drama of…

  • Slow

    Lately when I run, I go too fast, get winded, and need to stop and walk. That whole ‘race-stop-walk-race’ cycle is so frustrating, because I lose my stride, I feel like I’m failing, I see others streaming past. Lately when I parent, I race ahead in my mind to the time of college application and…

  • Gates

    A couple of days ago, I was waiting for a package to arrive at my parents’ house and my attention was drawn to this corner of their living room. Specifically, I was intrigued at the placement of two photographs of gates so near each other and something told me to tuck that away for future…

  • Pails

    We had just parked the beach buggy. My sixteen-year old son and fourteen-year old daughter went off to play catch, so I sighed my way into my new beach chair and scanned the horizon. I saw the most adorable couple of older ladies chatting, a few young families, teenage girls already baking in the sun,…

  • Moms

    I’ve known lots of Moms. At this moment in time, I know several mothers with sick children. These Moms are keeping things going for them and other family members, and they do it with grace and a smile. I know mothers who are sick themselves, and they are doing what it takes to heal, and…

  • Real

    There are experiences in life that you can never really prepare yourself for. When they happen, they become ‘Real’ and you find yourself touching the divine in some way…real joy or pain brings about a kind of wonder and awe that separates us from everyday life. As I get older, I find myself looking for…

  • Holy Saturday

    Sometimes pictures surprise you.  The one above, taken four years ago on a Holy Saturday like today, was one that escaped my attention until just recently.  That day, my daughter had my camera and she took dozens and dozens of pictures…this one seemed just kind of random to me until I looked a bit deeper.  The…