life

How I Voted

Deciding to vote early, my husband and I head out on a sunny, quiet Saturday afternoon with our little one. We’re happy the polling place is uncrowded when we arrive and our baby loves any reason to be in the carrier, observing the world while snuggling his mom.

We’re directed to our respective voting booths, the curtain is closed, and the dance begins. With all my preparation, I neglected to consider the height of the voting machine and the obstruction my son’s head would be to checking off my preferred boxes. I alternate making quarter turns to the left and right as I page through the selections and my son watches the sunlight filtering through the curtain. Can I touch it? he wonders. Yes. Continue reading →

One Year Later

Last year on Mother’s Day I got to give my mom the news that I was joining the ranks of motherhood. As a woman who adores and spoils (in the best possible way) all of her grand-babies, you can imagine that she took the news all but jumping up and down, shouting for joy rather well.

That technically first Mother’s Day for me was full of excited anticipation for the little one who might one day proudly gift me handprint crafts, weed bouquets, and sticky breakfasts in bed. Now that he’s here and though a little young for those things yet, he leaves me no less in awe of the fact that this is my life now. I am a mom. I get to be his mom. I could not be happier. Motherhood is awesome.

But it is also hard. Continue reading →

Vacation Hesitation

P1010929Who doesn’t love vacation? Traveling somewhere new, seeing the sights, relaxing without paying heed to a clock all make for a fantastic experience. As a kid who loved to read, I imagined one day I would grow up and travel around the world to some of the places in my books. A few of my childhood travel dreams have come true, but I’ve discovered it was a lot simpler back when I had parents in charge of all the details to make a trip happen. Though I haven’t yet refused to travel because of the more stressful parts of the process, there are a few things that can make me hesitate to venture far.

Continue reading →

I Forgot the Title of This Post

Among the many books from my childhood was a Sesame Street one where Bert ties a piece of string around his finger to help his memory.* I think I tried it out for fun, but the string kept slipping off and I lost interest. No matter, my youthful mind didn’t forget much — other than when my mother told me to clean my room.

These days, I could use some help remembering things. Especially since the things I’m forgetting are sometimes bizarre. Continue reading →

Yuletide Mystery: The Case of the Disappearing Doll

“You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I’m telling you why…”

Christmas: That magical time of year when we bribe children into good behavior under the watchful eye of Santa Claus and his army, a.k.a. the Elf on the Shelf. As children discover whether their efforts result in toys or lumps of coal, parents will search for new strategies to coerce them into being good during the off-season. Or, if they’re anything like my parents, gift-wrapped reward or no, they’ll have the audacity to expect good behavior year round. Still, if it was Christmas-related, my parents weren’t above playing the Santa card. Which brings me to a tale of one of my Christmases long, long ago. Continue reading →

Deck the Halls (And the Blog)

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Readers of my blog around this time last year likely caught on to my love of the Christmas season. (There may have been an overabundant use of exclamation points.) Well, Christmastime is here again and I am at my traditional level of excitement with decking the halls — and the blog.

While last year I went for a festive header (and started with the same idea this year), I decided on a temporary change of theme. Perhaps inspiration came from the annual WordPress provision of falling snow on my page. Maybe the emailed pictures of my niece today brought out my love for all things adorable. Whatever the reason, it’s been an extra dose of fun to decorate my little corner of the Web this December. Continue reading →

Back Off, Bugs, Inside Is My Territory

Around this time of year when I was little, the occasional bug would attempt an escape from the falling temperatures outdoors and wander into our home. If said bug was a spider, I would shriek and my mother would say something like, “Oh look! It’s a Halloween spider!” Maybe this was her attempt to make something scary seem cute, but years later, I remain unconvinced. I hate bugs. Continue reading →

Returning to Stalled Projects

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There’s a room in our house empty of furniture, its walls displaying patches of tested paint color and spackled over imperfections. It’s the first of several interior painting projects we planned in winter and started to work on in late spring. Since then, other events and projects have taken priority and the room has sat, prepped and full of potential, awaiting a fresh coat of color with an eggshell sheen.

It’s become a bit like this blog. Continue reading →

Why I Can’t Wait for Spring

I’m noticing a trend here, as I write yet another seasonal blog post. No matter, I’m over winter a month ago, and every day it persists I’m reminded of what I’m looking forward to when it’s finally over.

Warmth. (Pardon me for stating the obvious.) I don’t ever like being cold. Spring, for me, is ideal because it’s that blissful time without need of the extra layers essential to survive winter’s drafts and summer’s air conditioning. Continue reading →

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is Here!!!!! (Yes, I am a little excited)

I am no Scrooge. Christmas is my favorite holiday. It’s also the only time of year I find snowfall acceptable, then I’m bah humbugging with the best of them.

Besides weather, the common Christmas complaints surround commercialism. This includes how early displays show up in stores and how shoppers trample over the true meaning of the day to get the best deals on the most stuff. Growing up, I loved waking on Christmas morning to find gifts under the tree that weren’t there the night before, regardless of what I believed about jolly old St. Nick. After all, what child doesn’t like presents?

But even then I loved traditions that were less about getting. Continue reading →