Category: Children and Family
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Stepping Away
May 2026 I went to New Orleans recently for a work trip. My students conducted themselves wonderfully at the conference, delivering their essays, answering and asking questions, and navigating a big city and conference venue with poise. I was proud of them. But travel weeks are also hard. They don’t happen very often Read more
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Shelter: The Difference in a Bubble and a Greenhouse
March 2026 Last summer I decided it was time to pull out my old CDs from high school. I have saved them all, and driving a minivan old enough to still have a CD player installed paid off. I got to introduce my kids to the music of my youth. One Read more
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The Truth about the Tedious
February 2026 The fine line between being a creature of habit and a seeker of novelty can be a hard one to draw. I function best in routines and schedules. I appreciate that God is a God of order, and I also like to have order in my life. Yet, oh Read more
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How Much Stock Should We Put in a “Thank You”?
January 2026 Last month I wrote about gratitude. (A pretty appropriate topic for Christmas time, right?) But now it’s January, and I’m finding that I’m still grappling with gratitude, though in a different sense. Certain times of the year take a lot out of us, the holidays being a case in point. The Read more
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In Defense of Casseroles
I remember when I started cooking tater tot casserole. It was after my own mama came to stay with us after our last baby was born. She cooked and cleaned, and she made me the same dish she made when my siblings and I were kids. When I bit into the potato and green bean Read more
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These are the Good Old Days
August 2025 As I flipped my calendar, balancing on three heavy-duty magnets on my kitchen refrigerator, to August, it felt similar to getting to the last chapter of a book, when you can feel the fleetingness of it between your fingertips. Summer isn’t over, but it’s close. For many of us with Read more
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Adjusting to a Summer Rhythm
June 2025 Even for those who got hammered with snow this winter and whose schools extended days at the end of the year, early June is a safe bet for most that summer break is here! Kids (many adults too for that matter) look forward to it longing all year long. Even Read more
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Spring Cleaning: What to Toss or Treasure
May 2025 I can’t personally say I’ve been doing a whole lot of spring cleaning, just tidbits here and there, but it is that season. The trees and flowers begin to bloom, and we suddenly get an urge to lighten our load and dust off the cobwebs. I am not a Read more
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Forty and Blessed (not Fabulous)
April 2025 A big part of motherhood is documenting our children’s growth and milestones. But parents are growing and changing as well. This year was a big birthday for me: I turned 40. When I was a kid, we went to a friend of the family’s 40th birthday party. It was shiny black Read more
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Staycations and the Delight of Simplicity
March 2025 There’s just something about sleeping on your own pillow. I hate to be without mine. But I braved it a few weeks ago, and it was worth it. Our family went on a staycation, which has very little to do with pillows except I opted to use the hotel pillow, and it Read more