Last year, I was blessed to spend Easter in the Black Forest. There was a dusting of new snow that morning and I attended mass alone in a beautiful church where the only word I truly understood was "Amen." It was perfect. In the little town of Neustadt, thousands of miles from "home," I had … Continue reading Rise up
Category: family
Motherhood and The Silver Star
This is either the perfect book or the worst book to read when you're dealing with an impossible mother-daughter situation. You've been warned. Are you familiar with Jeannette Walls? Her first book, The Glass Castle related the story of her own childhood and was on the NYT's bestseller list for 6 years. It was a … Continue reading Motherhood and The Silver Star
Giving up
You may not know this, but both of my parents came from large Catholic families. Is that redundant? I actually have an aunt and two deceased great aunts, who became nuns, for real. I grew up hearing about how my mother's family went to morning mass every day, staying for a marathon mass on Sundays. … Continue reading Giving up
Our new DelSo dog
Months back when we lost our Cassidy, the conversation began about getting a puppy. Quinn was adamant about wanting a Golden Retriever (damn you to hell, Airbud) and I was equally resolute that we were not getting a Golden. We negotiated and a compromise was reached - a yellow lab. The family we had gotten … Continue reading Our new DelSo dog
On the edge of 17
It’s been almost 17 years since I became a parent. Impossible. When my water broke 5+ weeks before my due date, I remember feeling more excited than nervous, confident that my baby would be healthy and hearty. The unusually warm temperature (a record, it turned out) seemed a positive beacon and I went to the … Continue reading On the edge of 17
The ten best things about a new puppy
All the Lego pieces, now defined as "choking hazards" finally get picked up from the floor. I get to hear my big boys' "talking to a baby" voices. A puppy helps a house be a home. Naming a pet is a wonderful collaborative family decision. All 5 of us (1 mom, 3 boys, 1 male … Continue reading The ten best things about a new puppy
The Beatles, my boys and a birthday
If I think back on music from my childhood, The Beatles immediately come to mind. They were definitely the soundtrack of many car rides in my memory. Freshman year of high school, I remember the painful decision of which album to pick - the Red One or the Blue One. I don't remember which I … Continue reading The Beatles, my boys and a birthday