I wake up in the morning, early early, still dark, and hear something that sounds like a fire alarm. I immediately look up to my ceiling- nope, not that- but it’s that same ear-piercing, high-pitched wail and it’s not stopping. I stumble downstairs, disheveled but determined to not let that sound … [Read more...] about Rocks in the Water: The Hard Parts of Love and Markers of a Marriage that’s Real.
the work of love
When Being a Military Wife Feels Too Hard
All five of us, miracle of miracles, sit at the dinner table, eating chicken that Lane grilled and potatoes that I made just like any other family in America. Our conversation drifts to the following weekend and I mention a BBQ that we have been invited to- can we go to that? “Oh, no, … [Read more...] about When Being a Military Wife Feels Too Hard
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
When a Shift in Thinking Changes Everything
I realized something the other day, and don’t mind me being overly-dramatic, but it’s kind of changed everything. We ran in a race on Saturday. A 5k, with our family, for heroes and surrounded by heroes and because of heroes who sacrificed actually everything both as long ago as September 11th and … [Read more...] about When a Shift in Thinking Changes Everything
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