Christmas is a complicated season. At the surface, the media sends us the message that it is the "most wonderful time of year" filled with candy canes, happy smiling children, blissful mall shopping, and of course, argument-free family gatherings and copious amounts of leisure time. It's tough to ...
5 Life Lessons from The Music Man
The story of Harold Hill, Marion Paroo, and all the townspeople of River City, Iowa in the classic music by Meredith Wilson's The Music Man is one of near disaster and certain redemption. What could have ended with tar and feathering, lost money, and broken dreams in fact, ended in love, ...
The Lost Art of Thank You Notes
My grandmother practically lived to write thank you notes, or so it seemed. Upon arriving at her memorial service at her senior residence this past February, the music director, David, who played several hymns during the small gathering, shared after the service that he had never received so many ...
Homecoming [Poem]
When all the tears have dried and left a salty stain upon my cheek I sit and feel the void, the sadness I now feel when life has had it's way. ...
The Tension of Motherhood
There are lots of different “zones” in life, but the zone of motherhood—with all its different ages and stages—is one zone that can never be completely outgrown. Once you’ve become a mother, it’s always a part of you. I really love being a mom with all its ups and downs, exhaustion, joys, and ...
May’s Motherhood Race
It's May again, and like an unleashed torrent of water from a plugged hole in a dam, the flood of activities, field trips, end-of-year wrap-up events sweeps us moms away at an alarming rate. The May motherhood race is upon us, yet again. Ballet recitals, sports potlucks, field trips, open houses, ...