After the ceremony, Brennan is driving with Lane in the back of his truck, she’s wearing her special pink floral dress because it twirls and he’s wearing his dress uniform because that’s what soldiers do with ceremonies this important. His boots are polished while her shoes sparkle, and she’s … [Read more...] about We Are the Lucky Ones: Sisterhood, Courage, and Love That’s Strong Like a Circle
love is
On empathy, marriage, and when real love feels real hard
Sunday morning, I wake up with a sore throat and the three girls do the same. Canceled plans for the day turn into canceled plans for the week as all four of us are the sickest we’ve ever been over the longest amount of time. Tuesday evening of that week, girls in bed, Lane and I are on the couch … [Read more...] about On empathy, marriage, and when real love feels real hard
Building a Love for the Long Haul Even When It Feels Like Too Much Work
A long-running feud exists between Lane and I, and I am claiming neither guilt nor innocence as matters such as these are incredibly complex. Rather, I merely present the facts of a marriage, black and white, you decide. Lane and I graduated high school in 2001. This was a long time ago. All I know … [Read more...] about Building a Love for the Long Haul Even When It Feels Like Too Much Work
On Mothering & the Confusing Mess of Exhaustion and Delight
It is evening, it is morning, one day. In the barely-there light of this morning, sun not yet even dancing with the horizon, a baby (fine, fine, a 5-year-old) traipses into my room, and with the pre-dawn light peeking through the blinds, she exclaims “Mommy! Mommy! MOMMA. My tooth? It’s wiggly! I … [Read more...] about On Mothering & the Confusing Mess of Exhaustion and Delight
The Extraordinary Way of Brave Love: Memorial Day 2018
This is no ordinary life we live, I’ll tell you that much. It feels a bit obvious right now, painfully obvious if I’m being honest, as I am surrounded with boxes, yet-to-be-unpacked, in a home that doesn’t quite yet feel like home. We did this dance two years ago and we’ll do it again in another … [Read more...] about The Extraordinary Way of Brave Love: Memorial Day 2018
the inner workings of a marriage that’s real
The morning is quiet, simple, dark. I wake early, the 5:00 hour preferably, to be in the quiet, the simple, the dark. I arrive there, coffee cup in hand, laptop, well, in my lap, sitting in the still long before the day has any chance to go sideways on me. These are my moments, I tell myself, … [Read more...] about the inner workings of a marriage that’s real