Tag: family
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A Small Rebellion

I lifted you out of the baby car seat and held you on my lap in the padded wooden church pew. You were two months old—small enough to lay on your back with your head at my knees and your little feet resting on my stomach. You loved to stare up at the lights on…
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The Kitchen Window

I’m in the kitchen on a Monday evening, making homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. Mac and cheese is a staple around here—it’s easy, it makes leftovers, and everyone loves it. Sunbeams spread across the cabinet doors, warming and brightening the whole room, reminding me that spring is almost here to stay. Here in northern…
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Springtime and the Little-Kid Years

It’s spring, technically. The 50-degree weather we’re having is seasonally appropriate, even though it’s unpleasantly chilly and windy compared with last week’s 70-degree afternoons. Things are so much easier on those 70-degree days. Those days when it’s warm, partly cloudy, and just a little breezy are pleasantly low maintenance. No coat. No gloves. No wet…
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Shooting Stars

The breeze off the ocean is chilly after sunset, so we wear sweatshirts and snuggle close to each other. The beach is nearly empty except for us—me, and my husband. The annual Perseid meteor shower coincided perfectly with our wedding and our honeymoon to Maine, and tonight the sky is clear. We sit on the…
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Pipes and Poppables

My dad bought four bags of Poppables in the wrong flavor. He was running some errands for my mom, and, in his defense, the bags of “Sea Salt & Vinegar” Poppables are a very similar color to the bags of the preferred “Sea Salt” variety. Apparently there was a sale going on if you bought…
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Denouement

If 2023 were a story, December would be its denouement—the falling action of a plot when all the conflicts are finally resolved. Of course, that’s not really how life works. Our stories don’t wrap themselves up in a shiny red bow just in time for the year’s end. Some stories begin and end in less…
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These Walls

The toys are picked up for once, except for the stuffed ice cream cone the cat left in the middle of the floor. The children are taking their afternoon naps. I hear the gentle rush of the furnace blowing warm air through the vent behind me. It’s quiet enough to hear the wall clock ticking.…
