A few weeks ago our family met some friends at Malcolm X Park in downtown D.C to participate in the Sunday afternoon drum circle. For over forty years, drummers and dancers have been meeting in this space and making new rhythms come alive together. I love...
Indecently clothed from nursing, I hurried to unlock the door for my mom. “Hi, I’m so glad you’re here,” in that desperate tone of voice particular to moms trying to get out of the house. She had graciously offered to watch my “napping” son while...
My mother-in-law and I trudged up the steep hill to a nearby park with spray fountains, something a little different for my son to do while his sisters were at Vacation Bible School. As my little boy ran up the hill effortlessly, we took a...
It started like a mostly ordinary Monday, except that I had a morning professional phone call that ran long and my husband got started to work late because he had masterfully been keeping our sons from banging on my door during the call. Then we...
“Penny, NO! No, no, no, no, they just got this all ready for the grass tomorrow!” I hurried outside wondering how, in a few short minutes, two little girls could find the one thing they shouldn’t do in our big, child-friendly back yard. We were...
Today I held a pair of tattered ballet shoes in my hand, hovering them above the garbage, pondering the possible reactions of my three-year old if she discovered my subterfuge. Wisely, I put them aside, having just enough prescience to know that throwing them away...
Dearest Joseph, Today you are three! And I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. The day I thought labor would never progress and then - in what seemed like a moment - with my midwife coming just in time to catch you,...
Anyone else have memories of walking into an office at 7:00 a.m. and opening Outlook, complete with color-coded flags, alerts, reminders, and perfectly prioritized task lists? Organization with a side of coffee and an hour of quiet before the rat race reruns begin. So structured, so...
We all have them. The days that seem to come at us like a tidal wave, knocking us off our feet and causing us to lose our footing before we even even have the chance the lift the necessary first cup of coffee to our...
We were sitting on the couch in our living room - all six of us. My husband had called an informal but necessary "family meeting." Why? Well, for one, I was so stressed that I was experiencing heart palpitations. I told him I just needed...