2013
Anne Lamott said it, not I, but I know the truth of which she speaks.
The wheels came off the vehicle that is our family yesterday. Marilee was up late and awake early. William was up for an hour in the middle of the night in eager anticipation of the tooth fairy. I was restless ...
It is Sunday. Peter is away for the night. It has been a hard day. Marilee has a fever and an ear infection. William misses his dad and has erupted into tears more than once. Penny has been unable to control her impulses–she can't get a door to close so she slams it again and ...
I finished reading Wonder, by RJ Palacio, which I loved. I won't take the time to review it in full right now, but it is the story of a young boy named Auggie with a severe facial deformity who enters 5th grade at a local private school in Manhattan. You can imagine what it's ...
"My pastor Veronica says, 'Peace is joy at rest and joy is peace on its feet.'"
We've gotten through our transition year. It took us four moves to get here, but we are in this house to stay. The kids are back to school and they all seem happy and well adjusted. We still have the normal ear infections and toenail cutting and sibling bickering, but all in ...
I was raised to achieve things.
I was a third-generation valedictorian of my high school class, like my mother before me and her mother before her. Both of my parents have master's degrees. Growing up, I was The Smart Kid, voted Most Likely to Succeed. I went to college, earned ...
After Penny was born, people kept telling me about the "amazing" things people with Down syndrome could do. A part of me liked hearing the stories–of men and women who started businesses, completed serious athletic feats, sang in choirs, played instruments, and so forth. A part ...
The tweets:
What one mother learned from having a child with #DownSyndrome @SippingLemonade ow.ly/ozxpj #Family #Parenting
"You Can't Have It All, but You Can Have Cake" @nytimes ow.ly/oIyR6 #Choices #Success #HighSchoolNeverEnds
What does #HavingItAll mean to you? http://ow.ly/oIzoM#Success#Approval ...
A friend recently asked for my recommendations for books that might offer spiritual formation and encouragement, for parents and children alike.
Here's what I had to say:
As for the kids, the book we have is called The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones. Very readable ...
"This is what it means to be included."
The mother's words jumped out at me from the radio. Included.
Two year old Tatum Bakker had never been able to swing on a playground swing set until they visited Brooklyn's Playground on their way through Pocatello, Idaho. It's a playground ...
Ten years ago today, I was with my mother-in-law as she died. I watched her fight. And I watched the life leave her body. Afterwards, the scent of lilies and lavender. A clear blue sky. A sense, if not of relief, then at least of finality. It took a long time for me to cry.
"Mom, everyone keeps using the word include, but I don't know what that word means."
I had just finished a gentle reprimand because William and his friend had refused to let another friend into their fort. "Remember, William? We always include our friends." ...
In early July, I went to Kripalu, a yoga center in the Berkshire mountains, for a two day retreat with an old friend. Not only did we practice yoga three times a day, we also ate copious amounts of healthy food, enjoyed the sight of the mountains and the lake, talked and talked ...
Should yoga be banned in public schools?
I joined two other writers to try to answer this question for the September issue of Christianity Today:
My children began to learn yoga through our local public preschool a few years ago. They came home eager to show me "butterfly," "snake," ...
When my kids were younger, older parents would see us in public and say things like, "Cherish every moment. It goes by so fast." Or, "I remember those days like they were yesterday. I miss them." Or, "Be thankful for the time you have with them. Before you know it, they'll be ...
2014
