I'm posting over at A Deeper Family today. Sometimes we go through some gross things. This is one of those gross things. I’ll never forget the time that my daughter got lice. I’m pretty sure no one ever forgets something like that. It tends to be fairly traumatic for the whole family. For the other children in the family who are worried that they might also be banned from school. For the parents who feel like they must have been negligent in some way. And, of course, for the child who is forced to suffer under the chemicals and combs and the stigma of being the kid who has lice. I'd love it if you'd head over to A Deeper Family to read the rest. Also, prepare yourself for the worst picture ever. … [Read more...]

Today is my day over at A Deeper Family. Honestly, I didn't think I was going to be able to get a post together for today. There has been a lot going on in my family of origin over the past month, and not much of it has been good. Honestly, a lot of it has been downright awful. I'm usually a big fan of Easter, but this year...it was hard. It felt a lot more of Friday than of Sunday. I think it might just be that way for a while. Right now I'm just working on sorting through that. This post is only the very beginning of that work. And when so much hurt and pain swirls around me, I just want to drink too much and swear too loudly and wish it would just go away. Go away and never, ever, ever come back. I know that in the coming days and months, people will offer words of encouragement … [Read more...]

Happy 2013, my dear friends! This is where I welcome you to the new year here on the blog and immediately invite you to head somewhere else. Today is my day to post over at A Deeper Family, so I'd love it if you'd swing by there and read what I have to say about not writing my kids' stories. I remember when our lives were so intertwined that there was no aspect of her story that wasn’t my own. I could wrap her up in the sling and take her with me wherever I went. The way that her curls would tangle around my fingers, so our stories tangled together. But as she and her siblings age, the way that our stories interlace will be expressed differently. We can never be fully separated, as they are a part of me, but the way that connection is shared must continue to evolve. Read more here. … [Read more...]

It's the first Tuesday of the month, which means that today I'm posting over at A Deeper Family. I don't usually wait until the last minute to finish my posts over there, but this one took a while to get out. The Christmas tree was set up, decorated in blue and silver. The band rocked out a slamming rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. The calendar was packed full of Christmas activities – children’s pageant, live nativity, Christmas potluck. I folded up the paper and put it in my purse. I’m not a big fan of Christmas. Head on over to A Deeper Family to read the rest. … [Read more...]

As I was loading last month's post at A Deeper Family, I came to the realization that I was scheduled to post on election day. I didn't break out in a cold sweat, but I sure wasn't excited about that. I suppose I could have just ignored politics altogether, but that wouldn't be very honest, and that's just not how things are done over there. Authenticity is the lifeblood of storytelling. So here we go. 1980-1988 – My mom becomes passionately involved in the right to life movement, so I also become passionately involved in the right to life movement. I take pictures of mutilated embryonic corpses to my fourth grade class. I can identify the differences between a D&C, a saline, and a suction aspiration abortion before I know what an IUD or condom look like. I’m not old enough to … [Read more...]