“I have a theory about Caillou,” Noah says. I have been bent over, picking things up in the front hallway. My three have been away from me, testing the patience of my parents for two weeks while I've finished my next book. So this mess, today? I’m okay with it. It’s proves they’re here. And I’ve missed them fiercely. “Dying, huh? Well, this should be interesting.” I stand up and face him. I … [Read more...]
Giving and Taking Away
If you can watch your child slip into the pseudo-coma of anesthesia and not get teary-eyed, you are a better parent than me. Because my face immediately started leaking. This MRI was a long time coming. For four years, my son has complained of right leg pain. After no longer tolerating the “growing pains” explanation of our doctor, (or Jesse’s nocturnal wailings that “my leg hurts!”), … [Read more...]
The Length of Love
Love has no dimensions. It cannot be measured, boundless as it is. But I have felt lately that perhaps length is the best of all love’s rough estimates. What are the lengths to which someone goes for love? How long does love last, how far through difficulty will it carry us? How far behind us will it trail after we’ve left this world behind? What is the length of love? I give up nearly every … [Read more...]
#SorryNotSorry
I’m a bit of a literary nerd trapped in the body of a 40-something, half-fit, occasionally-showered mother of three. Translation: I read as much of things like DeLillo and Faulkner as I can in between shoving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in lunch bags and scheduling IEP meetings. When I fantasize, it’s about being a literature professor at a small IVY school. This is far superior to my … [Read more...]