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Category Archives: We Are Family
Twisted
It was a last minute decision, a spur-of-the-moment road trip. My cousin, Brandi — unexpectedly expecting her second son, thirteen years after the first — was the guest of honor at a Brown County baby shower thrown by our cousin, … Continue reading
A Rant
I’m cleaning again today. For the 8,734th time (roughly) in the past three months, I’m cleaning. I’m scrubbing my floor on my hands and knees, I’m vacuuming dog hair, I’m making my toilets sparkle, I’m eradicating any random boy-pee spray … Continue reading
Posted in Me Myself And I, My Kids, We Are Family
Tagged colors, feedback, house sale, jungle room, neighborhood pool, showings, Titanic
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What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Do kids still write back-to-school essays about their summer adventures? If so, this is what mine will say in August: Nothing. It won’t be entirely true. We’ll do Some Things. We’ll sit by the pool and paddle-boat on the lake. … Continue reading
Their Father
I was born to a father who chose not to stay, his departure the resounding chorus of my young life… Why not? Why? The lesson I learned from him was this: we can’t wish someone into being who we need … Continue reading
A Letter To My 16-Year-Old Son
Dear Teenager, Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair. Do you know why? Because it isn’t. But here’s a little something I’ve learned in my 43 years on this earth… life always gives you exactly what you need in order to learn … Continue reading
Hot Mess
I always wanted to be Carolyn Ingalls. And then my air conditioning went out. In Mississippi. And now I take all that prairie life nonsense back. Every single bit of it. I don’t even care if Pa plays his fiddle. I’m … Continue reading
Posted in We Are Family
Tagged air conditioning, Carolyn Ingalls, Charles Ingalls, Dante's Inferno, guinea pig tricks, heat index, hot flashes, Little House on the Prairie, peri-menopause, pet-friendly hotels, service repair man, stinky teenagers, summer in Mississippi, surviving the heat, the River Styx
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The Final Countdown: 14 Southern Fried Lessons
We leave the South in six short days. The boxes are packed, we’re eating with plastic utensils, and the truck arrives on Friday. When we moved in the summer of 2011, I told Chris I was willing to try anything … Continue reading
Posted in Big Thinks, Help From My Friends, Man Of My Dreams, Me Myself And I, My Kids, We Are Family
Tagged back to the Midwest, changing jobs, changing schools, choosing happiness, culture shock, financial instability, Indiana, lessons learned, loneliness, loss of a friendship, Mississippi, moving from Mississippi, Ohio, Simon Garfunkel, the South
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Boys Will Be Boys
Following is an excerpt of last night’s dinner conversation: Sam (14): “George, stop spanking your chicken.” George (8): “But I like spanking my chicken.” I nearly snorted red wine out of my nose and refused to make eye contact with … Continue reading
Posted in My Kids, We Are Family
Tagged "Ghost Hunters", choking the chicken, dinner conversation, masturbation
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The Whole Truth
My mom is reading “Table for Six” for the first time. She didn’t want to read an advance copy, said she trusted me, said she’d wait. I gave her a hard copy on Sunday and have been fretting ever since. … Continue reading
Posted in Big Thinks, We Are Family, Write On
Tagged interpretation, my mom, storytelling, Table for Six, truth
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Caring for Ourselves Looks a Lot Like Caring for Others
“Hello… is it me you’re looking for? Cause I wonder where you are, and I wonder what you do…” That’s one of my favorite cheesiest-of-the-cheesy love songs. Lionel was an 80s fixture for me, for sure. Now that song will … Continue reading
Posted in Big Thinks, Help From My Friends, Man Of My Dreams, My Kids, We Are Family
Tagged Anne Lamott, CT scan, diet, Doubting Thomas, exercise, givers and takers, grace, gratitude, health, Hello, Lionel Richie, medicine, money, MRI, MS, receiving
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