When Things Aren’t What They Seem
Last month my husband and I rented kayaks on the nearby river. We’ve kayaked before, but never at this spot. This was our first outing alone in months, so we were understandably excited — drunk on the fresh air and the possibility of uninterrupted conversation. So we paddled our kayaks down river, enjoying the sunshine, […]
Just Start Driving
An introduction of sorts… Returning to the blogging world, I complained to my husband, “I don’t know who I’m writing for. I don’t even know what I’m writing about! I don’t know what lane I’m in.” He looked up at me. “Just start driving. You’ll find your lane.” This is terrible automotive advice, but decent […]
How To Stay Productive At Home (Spoiler Alert: You Already Are)
For Christmas I received a daily planner. I chuckled a little, wondering what I would write in it. Shall I schedule diaper changes? Toddler meltdowns? A friend suggested making a gratitude list. I had done that before and found it helpful, but I often felt a little bit of shame after making the list, as […]
What Makes Self-Care Actually Work
I’m exhausted these days. Parenting littles, homeschooling a four year old, general house responsibilities. I need a break. Friends say I need more self-care. What actually counts as self-care anyway? I wondered how often I had thrown around the term like an NFL ref throwing penalty flags. Pedicure? Self-care. Dropping $150 at TJMaxx? Self-care. Netflix […]
Three Phrases That Save My Marriage
This summer marks eight years that my husband and I have been married. Eight years, three houses, two moves back and forth to Toledo (that’s another story), three pregnancies, two kids, one new car, countless home improvement projects, and approximately one zillion conversations. Here are three phrases we use that save our marriage daily. (Notice […]
What Can You Do?
It’s a helpless feeling. Feeling like there’s nothing you can do. Maybe that’s why we spend so much time online, looking at the intangible because we have nothing tangible to put our hands on. Maybe that’s why we get so passionate and even virulent in our comments in the virtual world, because we feel so […]
On Being Uprooted…
It was finally cooler outside this morning, so after breakfast I dressed in gardening clothes. The flowerbeds in the front of our house had been…well…dirtbeds all spring, minus one rogue tulip that we never planted. We have a fair amount of houseplants, and some nice greenery around the backyard deck, but we are not green […]