A lot of life circumstances can seem overwhelming sometimes. Illness, job security, physical moves, day-to-day responsibilities and I am sure we can all fill in our own blanks. I have found myself struggling with a bit of anxiety lately. I seem to muddle through fine and then, ahem, a certain hormonal time of month will …
Hi Ho Silver Nitrate Away!
Upon Lydia hearing she had an appointment with Dr Little, she quickly prepared for her day. You see, she has a full-fledge crush on her surgeon. At the mere mention of his name, her entire demeanor changes. Her head tilts to the side one way as she brings both hands together in front of her, …
The Never Ending Finger
My friend Linda and her children had just arrived from Virginia the day before for a five-day visit. We were looking forward to relaxing and enjoying a few day trips we had planned. We took a trip all right…straight to the ER. Linda and I had just gotten home from a shopping trip at Trader …
How do YOU get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
One of my favorite childhood commercials in the 1970s was the Tootsie Roll Pop. I liked the one where the little boy asked both Mr. Turtle and Mr. Owl, “How many licks does it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” As far as I can tell, these catchy Tootsie Roll Pop commercials date back to the …
Guess who is coming for cake…( Part Two)
The moment my body slid across the hard ground bulging with the tree’s exposed roots, I remembered I was pregnant. My hand reached down to cradle my sweet girl growing inside my now very bruised and contraction-riddled belly. I hopped up, adrenaline coursing through my body and my brain racing a mile a minute. All …
Guess who is coming for cake
It was the 19th of October, Yorktown Day (for any of you history buffs out there). I was pregnant with my ninth child, entering my seventh month. Since I had already experienced numerous pregnancies, just picture me with a belly of an elephant pregnant in the, oh, let’s say 16th month. David was leading a …
I said, “Put your hands in the air!”
It was an unusually hot, late, fall day in 1998. I was very pregnant with my sixth child, my daughter Phoebe. I was taking a day trip with the kiddos from Richmond, VA to visit my parents in Yorktown. Starting our slightly-over-an- hour journey, we decided to swing through the McDonald’s drive-thru for lunch. Our …
Life is too short to wear tight shoes
Back in October, a friend came for a visit. She commented on the new running shoes I was wearing. Black with a white, a hot pink and a blue stripe that if I stare at too long, I see myself sitting on the beach with the sand between my toes, the ocean waves pounding …
Sometimes we have dreams; we have just forgotten them
I was talking to my son this morning when he proudly announced he didn’t have any dreams last night. I explained that he most certainly did have dreams; he had just forgotten them. I told him, “Everybody dreams; we just don’t always remember them when we wake up. Sometimes we need to make a conscious …
Croup in the Night
Caleb and croup So last night was not unlike something we haven’t already experienced in twenty five years of parenting, I just intensely dislike croup. The terrible barking noise, the fear it brings into my little person as they gasp for breath, mouth wide open as they call for all their seal friends in the …