My precious baby boy lay sleeping peacefully in my arms during his afternoon nap time. This has become our routine: sometime between one and two o'clock, I tell him its time for a nap. He then tells me what I must do: "Mommy, get your...
A faint gurgle of toddler laughter drifted up the stairs as Penny danced and giggled with her Mimi. The sound was music to my ears as I nursed my sweet son before his nap. I cradled my growing boy (97th percentile for height!) and studied...
I looked down at the fuel gauge on our car - the light blinked on in what seemed like a response to my attention: Empty. "How are we on empty again already?," I thought to myself as I steered our car towards the nearest gas...
It doesn't happen often, but occasionally, a milestone will catch me off-guard. Sometimes sentiment bubbles up and swells into tears. Other times, pride, excitement, and deepening relationship with my growing-up boys casts sparkling light on a new day that makes it easier to relinquish their...
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...
The day we left for vacation began early. As the sun was beginning to rise, yawning children piled into our car with their favorite blankets and stuffed animals in tow. Coffee in hand, I began to run through my check list of all the items...
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...