Understanding

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Everyone in our family voted on Tuesday, even my three-year-old daughter. She, along with her classmates, voted for cupcakes. Chocolate or vanilla.  Since she is my daughter and was therefore born with a constant craving for chocolate, she was confident in her vote and that the outcome would result in eating a delicious, chocolaty cupcake with her classmates on Wednesday afternoon. I didn’t do much to prepare her for the unexpected outcome of vanilla being the winner. She was giddy and energized when I dropped her off, ready to let her voice be heard.

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Seeing Jerry

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A family of rhinos took my attention away from my daughter.  The parents were coaxing the two young ones to move along towards the next treat station.  They had to maneuver past several princesses, a clunky Thomas the Train, and our very own two-year-old little Statue of Liberty to reach the prized bowl of Twix bars.  The plaza at Lincoln Center offered only five candy stations, but the costume watching made it worth spending Halloween morning in the company of hundreds of other New York families. 

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How Do I Respond?

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Last week I was having a discussion with some women about how to balance being informed about current events without being consumed by them. Most of the women in this group are not yet mothers, and they asked me and the only other mom (who is currently in that blissful exhausting newborn whirlwind) if our perspective has changed since becoming mothers.  “Definitely,” I answered. Watching or reading the news can be paralyzing when your child is sleeping or playing in the next room. I don’t remember weeping at the news quite as much before donning this “mom” title.

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Ten Years

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Last week we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. It came and went without a lot of pomp and circumstance. We felt loved and acknowledged the life we’ve built and are continuing to work on. It was just different than I had always imagined it would be.

We didn’t write our own vows, opting for the traditional ones instead. To be honest, I don’t actually remember our vows. There was something about richer and poorer, sickness and health, good times and bad, but as I was proclaiming these words while holding tight to my almost-husband’s hands, my heart was holding tight to a plan I had carefully crafted for our life ahead.

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Grand Opening

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Writing is hard. Every time I think I have a new idea, I open up my browser and see someone else has already written about it. Sure, they didn’t use my words, but the ideas are similar. Is there really ever anything new to bring to the table? 

I finished my writing workshop at the end of February. I met some really talented women and was encouraged by their bravery and honesty in their words. We shared openly and gave feedback kindly. I didn’t really want it to end. Not only did it provide community, but it also forced me to prioritize writing. I was in a great routine for six weeks. Then the workshop ended and I went right back to making excellent excuses as to why I wasn’t writing. I got sick. We were traveling. People were visiting. You know, life. 

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