It is 6:00 and I'm making dinner. My youngest is whining and refusing to eat her dinner (no surprise) and she needs a bath. Her older siblings are outside in the backyard jumping on our trampoline with five or six other neighborhood kids. Twenty-two shoes, a million inside out socks, along with sippy cups, empty bags of chips, a bottle of bubbles, a sweatshirt, two hula hoops, a water gun, and a ... Read More
A Horse, Stories, and a Commitment.
I didn't have to speak; the mare read the stories in my eyes and she just knew. I fed her carrots and we talked without words while the sun set over the Kansas sky. She sensed my struggles: stressful situations with the kids, a recent breakup, my scary basement, taxes, anxiety over several things beyond my control, and the general malaise and feeling of failure caused by parenting. I was ... Read More
The Treasures I’ll Keep
I'll keep the catheter you traveled to my uterus in as tiny baby blastocysts. The locks of your soft hair from the first time we cut it as you cried and squirmed and revolted. I will keep your baby bracelets you wore in the hospital and all of mine, too. I will keep your tiny teeth in Ziploc bags in a wooden box, each one labeled with a name and a date so I can keep them all straight. I keep ... Read More
