In the eleventh hour of summer, my daughter Chloe decided she wanted to switch high schools. Knowing the immense troubles she had faced at her previous one, I was willing to at least make an effort to do it for her. After emails to multiple...
As many people have reported, following Covid, I started losing my hair. Add to this a splash of Anemia, to make matters worse. (I can’t just have one kind of fun, after all) I have been battling this for over a year. Once I had spent months on...
The moment my daughter Tessa was first placed on my chest after her birth I cried so much, I can hardly explain it. My husband snapped a picture of me in that moment, and I can still hear my mom saying a pitying, confused, and very Southern...
All it took was one short glance at a moss green velvet couch on my phone screen. Someone in a group I follow for decor inspiration online had just seen it for sale and was asking the group what they all think. That couch, an ultimate object of...
We leave for our annual camping trip tomorrow. My friend Amanda and I leave our husbands at home and take our kids to the local KOA. It is a tradition we have had for many years. This year, however, there is something different: We are taking my...
I cleaned my daughter Tessa’s room for her today. It’s something that always overwhelms her. I made sure not to snoop or pry, as it was not intended to be an invasion, but it was meant as an act of love. It’s easy to get on kids about the state of...
I am an outside girl. I love crisp breezes, the beach at sunset, and watching as the stars get caressed by campfire smoke. As I’ve grown older, I feel like open space has become more of a need than just a want. I need the TV turned down more often...
It was our eighteenth anniversary. We went to dinner at the kind of place we only go on special occasions; Velvet curtains, golden lighting. We laughed a lot. We always do. We talked about all that had led up to that day, facing each other in that...
The day she separated our coffee mugs – That was the day for sure. I had thought I could hold it together, and be brave stepping into this new world of independent children, but for some reason the sight of my oldest daughter, Alena...
We had just gone into the store for a couple of sandwiches. When my mom is here visiting, my daughter Tessa lives her best granddaughter life, and eats whatever she wants. I had tried telling her we had food at home that I planned to make, but as a...