I have been busy these last weeks prepping classes and teaching and prepping and teaching. I’m teaching two classes and a couple of Saturday 1-hour writing labs at local libraries this fall, so I’m officially back in the swing of things. I’m busy, but interestingly I feel much less scattered than I did a month…
Read MoreI spent last weekend cleaning and re-cleaning and shopping and re-shopping for parties in honor of Stella, who turned five on Saturday. Five—it’s hard to believe. Every year on her birthday, part of me relives those scary days leading up to (and following) her birth. This year, those memories were particularly close to the surface…
Read MoreI’ve been in such a funk this summer, which is unlike me because I love summer. I love the green and the heat (within reason) and the long days. But the days have been so very long with the two girls, and I’m always scrambling to squeeze in one more thing. I have been taking…
Read MoreI am up north this week with the girls and my mom and grandpa and my older sister and her fiancé. (Up north is what we say in Minnesota to mean anything north of the Twin Cities.) On Saturday, I led my “Writing Family” workshop in Park Rapids, and it was so much fun. Out…
Read MoreI have been feeling heavy and sad all week, ever since I learned that Vicki Forman’s son, Evan, died unexpectedly. I have never met Vicki in person nor spoken to her on the phone, and yet, I feel as if I know her. I suppose this speaks to the power of her writing. It was…
Read MoreStella came home from soccer camp yesterday with a huge grin that revealed a gaping hole where her left front tooth had been just hours before. “I can’t believe it! You’re such a big girl!” I gave her a crushing hug and demanded the story. She reenacted the biting of a baby carrot and the…
Read MoreI never worried about D bonding with Stella. He was with her in those moments after she was pulled from me, when the neonatologists were checking her vitals. He was with her after they placed her in an isolette and wheeled her up to the Special Care Nursery, where he sat and spoke to her…
Read MoreOn Saturday morning my dad came over to give me a hand with the little ones, and my choice was either to take a nap (which I desperately needed) or go for a run (which I also desperately needed). D was out of town again, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to…
Read MoreIt was beautiful here. D and Stella woke me up with a vanilla latte and a bowl of strawberries. Stella was very silly, dancing around the bed, singing, “My boootis, my boootis” as she shook her little tush. Then she collapsed, laughing. (Zoe was sleeping in her car seat and missed all the fun.) After…
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