Movies are Magical
Films have the ability to take people on journeys without even pulling them from the comfort of their couches. They helped me escape the difficulties of childhood, and now a…
Browsing Tag:
blogher
An Open Letter *From* My Deceased Mother
Not long ago I shared an open letter I wrote to my deceased mother. And as my latest Expressing Motherhood piece mentioned an open letter she wrote me that was…
Hard Lessons, Healing, Parenthood
Love You Forever
No one is ever ready to say goodbye to a parent, and I was no exception. When my mother suddenly passed away at the age of fifty-five, it was devastating. The only way I knew how to cope was to write, and when it came time to write her eulogy, I welcomed the chance to honor her.
Finding Happiness, Hard Lessons
To All the Friends I’ve Lost Along the Way
I have lost many friends over the years. A few were stolen by Death (may they Rest In Peace), but far more of them I have lost to life…
Why I’m Not Crying At School Drop-Off
“How do you feel?” “Are you sad?” “Nervous at all?” Ive been asked the same question (or variations of it) umpteen times in relation to my kids starting school within…
Finding Happiness, Hard Lessons, Humor, Parenthood
Lessons From Mom
There are things our parents choose to do that stay with us forever. These actions, good or bad, teach us the lessons we carry into adulthood and especially parenthood.
Like the time my older brother found a wallet filled to the brim with cash. I was four and he was seven, but as children of a single mother in the eighties, we already knew the value of a dollar; Mom was never one to shelter us from our reality. I remember my brother handing her the leather square in the narrow aisles of a pharmacy. I remember Mom looking around, then stuffing it deep underneath her arm in one swift movement…”
Finding Happiness, Hard Lessons, Healing, Travel
To Galway, With Love
…Only a few hours later, I had booked a trip to Ireland so I could spend St. Patrick’s Day in the rowdy streets of Dublin. I had stumbled upon an affordable tour for college students offered by a company both Mom and I had formerly worked for. I would be spending two and a half days in Galway and four days in Dublin. This would only be the second flight of my life, and I tried not to be nervous. There was nothing I could or wanted to do about my excitement, though.