If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past four-plus decades of life, it’s that life is messy. Everyone’s life is messy. Real life isn’t Instagram-ready or Pinterest-pretty. It’s full of chaos—good and bad—and peppered with troubles. We all have them, even if you can’t see them in the posts you scroll through on your […]
No Means No. Stop Means Stop.
Much of my life—especially the first 25 years—has been spent having people not listen to my “No”s when they mattered the most. Showing respect is a very easy thing to do, but you have to believe you are equal to the other person to show it. Believe the other person’s wishes are important, valid. Every […]
Alternatives to the Pumpkin Spice Life
We all know that the most popular pumpkin spice obsessions are the pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin spice muffin—treats I have known to enjoy now and again—but it has grown far, far beyond that. I’m not saying that the Pumpkin Spice thing is getting out of hand, I’m just saying that you can drink it […]
Treatment
When my mom had cancer, there was a chain of calls made to get everyone praying for her. She did her treatment (surgeries, chemo, etc.) while friends and family prayed, while her church prayed, while the churches of her friends and family prayed after getting her on their prayer list. And she beat cancer. Did […]
20 Little Things That Are Slowly Making This Mom Lose Her Damn Mind
When my daughter decided to hide from me in the thrift shop so that we had to do a Code Adam lockdown while all of the shoppers helped me locate her? I was cool and organized when it happened, took care of what I had to, and once I found her I quietly told her […]
I Will Not Always Get to Do This
I look over to my right and see her eyes are closed. Gently, I lean over, confirming that her usually wildly expressive face and chatty mouth have gone soft with sleep. It crept in at some point during the movie while I was distracted, pressing on her until she couldn’t fight anymore, urging her to […]
Books I Read on Vacation
We planned our family vacation at a place where we knew the kids would have a frickin’ BLAST. That’s what we do, as parents, right? We spend our hard-earned cash and minimal free time on trips that are exhausting to prep for, never have quite the right kind of sleeping arrangements our old bodies require […]
This One is Dedicated to Anyone Who Has Had a Pain in the Ass
If you’re new around here, you might not know about my butt. Back when I started this blog in 2008, I was keeping a secret about my butt, going along and trying to be at least somewhat tactful on the internets as I plodded along. Then in 2011 I revealed my secret: I had been […]
Oh Diana
Okay, so last night I saw Wonder Woman (my 12-year-old son’s choice for his birthday). It was fantastic, but something happened during it that I didn’t expect. I mean, maybe I should have? But I didn’t. There comes a point in the movie a little ways in during which she rises — both to the occasion and literally […]
Summer Books Summer Books WOO HOO Summer Books
Let me cut to the chase: someone’s gonna win a $250 Amazon gift card and 8 great summer books, then A HUNDRED PEOPLE will win a free book, too. [throws confetti] I’ve done big giveaways with these fellow writers and bloggers before, and it’s always fun. So hop on to it to see which book I […]