The Tooth Fairy visited our house last night. I will try to contain my excitement since I was up until 11:30 waiting to play Tooth Fairy then up again at 2:30 when my overly excited 5 year old needed to share with me RIGHT THEN what the Tooth Fairy had left her. I never wanted to pretend there was such
Read more
I’ve battled pretty my entire life. I spent decades trying to be the word. Years trying to dissect the word. Now, after raising two young girls all I want to do is dismiss the word completely. It has stolen years of my life, more money than I ever want to think about, and lots and lots of joy. And why?
Read more
Dear Evan, You were Almost my firework baby. One day late. The darkened streaks left smeared across the sky. The proof that something prodigious had just occurred. You were tiny and fierce. Full of surprises. You left everyone in awe. I was Captivated and devastated. The show was over. I was left to cleanup. But no longer alone. I held a tremendous force of
Read more
You thought I was going to say you’re doing it wrong, didn’t you? Because that is what we hear most often. I went to counseling today. Not for myself, but for one of my kids. I’ve never been to a counselor before but my kid is struggling with things that I cannot help her with. It didn’t feel like admitting defeat,
Read moreThe first week of leave due to my surgery I was on pain meds and I got absolutely nothing accomplished except watching all of Orange is the New Black season two, and Mad Men season five. I knew I had to move on to a new obsession when I started wanting mixed drinks at 10:00 AM. Today I spent
Read moreThe first career aspiration I can remember was that I wanted to be a rockstar. I was young and full of magic and hopefulness. Unfortunately I wasn’t full of talent or reality. My future came smashing to an end at the age of 8 when I heard a recording of myself singing for the first time. “That’s not me,” I claimed,
Read moreI’m not a writer, I’m a storyteller. I try to correct people if they call me the former. Writers are intentional and their work has a conclusion. Storytellers are reactional and their work is always in progress. Plus there is this thing called grammar which ruins writing for me every time. When I was young I used to tell myself
Read moreThis week Ruth Graham wrote an article for Slate titled “Against YA” claiming that adults should be embarrassed to read Young Adult (YA) or children’s fiction. Not since the Patriot Act have you seen librarians this angry. Graham describes YA in terms such as simple, worthy of eye rolling, uniform, uncritical, and immature. Words that enraged many readers, authors, and educators
Read moreA few weeks ago I went out to check on my children (ages 5 and 7) who were playing with a friend down the street. I was checking on them every 10-15 minutes to see how they were doing. They were only about 7 houses away, although not visible from my house because of a bend in the road, and
Read moreDear Evan and Lulu, “I have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I feel committed to Idaho. I’m tied to it. And I would love to see it become, and help it to become, a much better place for my daughter to grow up.” That was a quote from me In 2007 when I was
Read more
Chop Wood, Carry Water 