On Monday morning, I could not find my slippers. (Living in a home with four small children and one grown husband, I spend far more time than I want to admit searching for lost items. I’m frequently confused by where things end up: a piano book on a windowsill behind one of the shelves in … Continue reading "The Case of the Missing Slippers, or, Seeing Interruptions for What They Are"

The other day, Emmeline and I were playing a little game that has become a staple in our home. “Who loves Emmeline?” I asked her. She grinned. “Mama!” she said. Then, in quick succession, “And Daddy and Katie and Abby!” I waited for her to finish the series, but she just looked up at me, … Continue reading "He Hurt Me Sometimes, or, On Loving Others Well"

Back in October, we had a fire on our property. (For those keeping track, yes, this was a mere six weeks after we had moved on to said property.) Not the good kind of fire, all warmth and cheer, crackling merrily as you roast hot dogs or marshmallows. Not the useful kind, clearing dead brush … Continue reading "That Time Our House Almost Burned Down, or, I Would Have Been Angry, Too"

We moved recently. (Well, relatively recently. After four months, you’d think you might have made the time to hang pictures on the walls, might have found some place other than your bathroom counter for storing clean towels, might have turned the dining room into a functional space rather than a repository for all the random … Continue reading "The Big Yellow House, or, Some Thoughts on Home"

It has been a year. I mean this quite literally; it has been a year (and then some) since I last had anything to say on this blog. (Scratch that. I’ve had plenty to say. It’s just that most of it has been far too raw to be shared with the world.) But also? It … Continue reading "A Little Bit Like Mary"