The gatekeepers

Our youngest burned her arm on a pizza pan the other day.  Nothing requiring a hospital visit, but a burn significant enough to have me bringing an aloe plant to our weekend trip in Michigan, and an aching mama’s heart for the precious skin of our little one.  As a parent you may know this.  …

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When you can’t have it all

It’s that time of the year again.  No not the back to school time of the year, although that certainly is the case.  Not the most wonderful time of the year.  Not even the time for your New Year resolutions.  Nope.  Just that time of the year when allergies hit.  Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, the …

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This Marks One Year

August 22, 2019.  The date is a significant one.  Every story has pivotal moments that shape the course of life.  Sounds drastic, but only because such moments are.  What you thought you knew turned out to be misunderstanding.  What you trusted in turned out to be betrayal.  What you believed you were walking in diligently …

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Happy Birthday from a Hipster

We bought a birthday card for my brother. The woodsy image spoke to what is rather a standard trend these days, even though I have always had a love for plaid. On the front, a bearded gentleman, no gray mind you. Although a beard that you can envision having been tended to by one of …

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Are You Happy?

Simple reminders should often be the most desired. I heard it once said that when told something we already know, or an ideology we are already familiar with, we tend to respond – whether verbally or internally – in one of two ways. The novice, or even perhaps the unwise, says “Yes, I know that …

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Disney Princess Syndrome

Temporary. That’s how I have come to see the places we have made home. As though by seeing something as temporary it will suddenly hurry you along to a place of permanence. The logic is skewed, yet this longing for permanence rather real.  Or perhaps call it what it is- the search for permanence is …

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Airing Opinions

To anyone who has loved the sound of their own voice.  To anyone who finds themselves dominating the conversation in a room, even with the intent of being “helpful”.  To anyone who has formulated a stream of thought while someone else was speaking.  This has been me.  This writing is for both of us. For …

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Because love is a choice

Desperate. Have you ever felt this way?  Specifically in your marriage.  An argument with a loved one that demands resolution, yet an embrace is hard pressed.  A clear divergence in the journey forward that seems to hold no compromise other than disappointment.  An expectation that looms prominently over every task, every inquiry, even every conversation …

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The Rainbow

Music has this beautiful way of practically pulling our hearts out of our chest.  Where emotions and identities that were hard to express, suddenly flow out of us effortlessly.  Not necessarily in tears, although sometimes that might be the case, but in thought. All because a raw emotion is attached to a real melody, and …

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