Tag: Motherhood
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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.…
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Canvas and Clay
I remember the day my son was born and feeling his soft, tender skin for the first time. Every inch of it was perfect, just like him. No marks or blemishes had changed him from how he had formed inside me. The thought of doing anything that would bring my son out of his current…
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Sunday Mornings
I remember being in church one Sunday morning when, just as the sermon was beginning, a toddler darted up the main aisle wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper. His pregnant mother chased him, holding a used diaper in her hand, and caught up to him just before he reached the pastor. She quickly apologized,…
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Time Travel
“Grandma, what’s time travel?” Walter asks, for the third (or maybe the five hundredth) time. I’m dropping the kids off with my mom before going to work, and she mentioned something about time travel while talking about going to the Renaissance Festival with my brother. My three-year-old is still learning not to interrupt grown-ups unless…
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The Bus Ride
“Sometimes you hate it,” Patrick said, and that’s when I knew I wanted to join marching band. I was a “theater kid” in high school, so I spent lots of time hanging out in the hallway of the fine arts wing—the place that housed the auditorium as well as the band room and choir room.…
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Mom Confessions
One of the things I want to do with this blog is share about the things people don’t always talk about. Some of the best things I’ve read have been posts or essays where other moms shared their experiences in a way that made me feel more “normal.” Just knowing you’re not the only one…
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From the Rocking Chair
I’m nursing the baby before bed, like I do every night, in the rocking chair that used to belong to my mom. My daughter, 8 months old, is wearing her cozy jammies with the lemons on them. Her soft head rests on my arm, and her little hand plays with my shirt, my thumb, my…
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Unfolded Laundry and the Entryway Mat
My mom showed me an entryway mat—large and navy blue—and asked me if I liked it for the space inside my front door. She said the last time she came through my front door the old mats smelled like cat pee, so she thought it would be best to just replace them. Naturally, I was…
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Thorns and Weeds
It was the 4th of July and already hot by 10:30 in the morning, and my dad was outside my house digging weeds out of the front flower bed. My toddler was out there too, “helping” Grandpa. For almost four years I’d wanted to deal with the thistles and other junk growing between the shrubs…
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Bubbles
I set Phoebe on a blanket in the grass on a warm, sunny afternoon, thankful for the nice weather and the chance to be outside. Walter loves to play outside, and parenting is somehow easier out here in the fresh air (and when I can’t see the dishes, the clutter, and the cat hair collecting…
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