“So much will change,” they say, pointing to your swollen belly, nearly giddy with the kind of knowledge that only experience supplies. “Your life will never be the same!” I know, you think smugly. I’ve heard it, I’ve read it, it’s the mantra you mothers all repeat. But they’re right, of course. While things will change, many of those changes are expected: those that arise from the training of … [Read more...]
The Nature of Things
At 9:30 in the morning, the small swish of paper brushing across my bedroom’s wooden floor woke me. My husband Matt was at the Ravens game with some friends. There had been an early curtain call for the pre-game frivolity, so he’d been gone for some time. The night before had been a late one, and I’d overslept. Meaning, I was already frustrated. Unless there’s a nuclear winter and all the alarm … [Read more...]
Invisible Diagnoses and the God Who Sees
Most times, when faced with a writing project, I’ll fold up the laptop’s screen and breathe in, ready to unpeel a new word and lay it flat. Most times, I am excited, knowing that we’ll discover things together, you and me. Other times, I will share with you something that slashes me sideways and leaves my mother’s heart bleeding. That is when the writing hurts. Today, every keystroke burns a … [Read more...]
She Calls Me Mama
She calls me what her brothers don’t. Because they are boys, most likely, or perhaps because they are impatient and "MOM!" hollered from somewhere else is easier to get out of their mouths. Loudly. Grace is walking up the stairs, calling my name before she reaches the top. But it’s not the “Mom!” of Noah’s tween insistence. It’s her calling, “Mama?” It is sweet and gentle. And it lasts only … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to the Yoplait Company
An Open Letter to the Yoplait Company To Whom it May Concern: I write to you concerning your product offering known as “Go-Gurt.” I’m not even sure I’m hyphenating or capitalizing this word correctly. Your website isn’t exactly clear. I think it’s actually “Go⇒Gurt” but just typing that took clip art and 10 minutes of my time. Nevertheless, I need to explain what may have been a radical … [Read more...]
The Lovely Wreckers
My mother used to say, “I can’t have anything nice with kids in the house!” She didn’t so much say it as she did wail it. We were the kids who came swinging in through the kitchen window feet first from the eaves of the roof, or accidentally lit the garage on fire. The security system in the house was basically just a trigger mechanism for the neighbor’s rage. His first thought, I’m guessing, … [Read more...]