A PHOTOJOURNAL
You know that annoying song they make you sing in preschool, "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold"? I'm here to report, after 27 years of observation and assessment: the annoying song is right. Old friends are gold. So here's a tribute to one of my oldest and … Continue reading On Old Friends
What do you want out of life? For me, the answer to this question has always been small and big at the same time. I don't want a mansion. I don't want a big, shiny car. I don't want to be president, or to walk on the moon, or even to be anyone's boss. I … Continue reading On A Small, Good Life
In honor of National Dog day: the winding, not-super-linear story of how Wren came into our lives. I've written tomes about Chara, but I'm not sure that I've ever told Wren's story. And it's a great one: full of love and hardship and challenges overcome. When I first met Wren, we weren't looking for a … Continue reading On three-legged dogs
What does your typical morning look like? If you're anything like me two months ago, it went like this: the alarm goes off. You snooze it. And snooze it again. And again. Finally, the dogs click-clack cheerfully into the room, demanding to be let out. You extract yourself from the sweaty, sweet nest of your … Continue reading On Habits
When I was eighteen, my dad invented something called "slack leashing." Slack leashing is a sport involving one human, one dog, and a leash. You clip the leash on the dog like you're going to go for a walk, but instead of the human setting the pace, you have to allow the dog to set … Continue reading On Being Raised by Two Developmental Psychologists
[I realized recently that most of my posts follow a particular, positive format. In each one, I move from uneducated to educated. Unenlightened to enlightened. Sad to happy. Mournful to hopeful. But not all of life can be a lesson. And not all of life has a happy ending. This post is one that I’ve … Continue reading On Remembering My Mom
(All photos are of real shelter pets from the Oktibbeha County Humane Society, taken during my year working there. These pets have long been adopted, but there are hundreds more adorable critters just like them looking for homes). What do you picture when you hear the word "kill shelter?" If you're like most people, you … Continue reading On Kill Shelters
My first weeks with L were blue skies and rainbows and sunshine. I loved everything about our life together under the roof of our little brick house--the midnight snuggles, wispy baby hair, long, lazy mornings all curled up in bed as a family. But there was a storm cloud looming on the horizon--I only had … Continue reading On Being a Working Mom
A couple of week ago I was driving to pick Jordan up from the university after he'd spent a long couple of days out in the field, and a thunderstorm broke right overtop me. In seconds, the highway had disappeared beneath a glistening sheath of water, and the windshield roared with rain. It was simultaneously … Continue reading June
[Written about two weeks after L was born. Warning: this post is kinda graphic. Like mucus-plug graphic. Read at your own discretion] I’m sitting here with a snoring baby on my chest. He is warm and soft and heavy—the sort of soft, warm, heavy that is meant to be snuggled close. It’s one of the … Continue reading On Giving Birth
Feathery Thoughts 