Love Means Showing Up
When my big kids were in preschool, we lost power during a winter storm. We all gathered in the family room and built a fire. We had light from the windows; it wasn’t terrible. My four-year-old son Caleb was anxious, though, and kept asking a bunch of questions. I finally said to him, “Why don’t
This past week, I had to tell my African-American twins about the murder of George Floyd. I always want them to hear about these things from their parents—not from a classmate or accidentally through the news. I have some experience with this kind of conversation; I decided years ago that I wanted them to hear
This spring has been very loosey-goosey; this is my least favorite kind of season. I prefer a full calendar with a pretty clear sense of what I can expect around the corner. For a long time, I’ve been able to pull off this level of reliability and consistency. I’d put things on my family calendar
Whenever something new or unexpected happens in my life, it takes me a hot minute to catch up. I wish I were quicker on my feet, but I need time to regroup. Part of that regrouping is looking around and finding someone in a similar situation who appears to know what they are doing. This
I wish I knew how to better handle the kind of days that we have suddenly found ourselves in. For those of us with kids at home, it feels like an unexpected summer, but without any time to make travel plans or sign up for camps or join a pool. I fear it will be
I knew I was going to go horseback riding on a recent trip to Arizona, so I asked a friend who rides a lot for some advice. “Just don’t hold the reins too tight,” she said. “That’s a beginner’s mistake.” When you are on a huge animal and you are nervous and scared, loosening the
I spent last week in Chicago with my son, Caleb, who was auditioning for college musical theater programs. It’s probably more accurate to say that I spent the week with Caleb and about a thousand other drama kids all of whom were auditioning in the same hotels. They all came to the Chicago Unified auditions
Over a decade ago, I began meeting with a spiritual director named Karen that a friend recommended to me. Since that time, Karen has become a dear friend and we met for lunch last week to celebrate our upcoming birthdays. During our conversation, she mentioned that an important question she asks herself regularly is, “What
My, my, my. Prince Harry and his wife, Megan Markle have really poked the bear. People seem to have very strong opinions about the royal couple wanting to have their own lives. Last week, Harry and Meghan announced that they would be stepping back as “senior” members of the Royal family. They stated that they
A few years ago, a friend bought my family a new nativity set at a fair-trade store. It was made in Africa and is different from any creche I had ever seen. The first time I was setting it out in our front hallway, I kept thinking, “Something seems off about this scene.” My mom