In the DC area this spring, the electric buzz of cicadas seems nearly deafening each time someone opens the door. Within a few seconds, we acclimate to the sound, but each time we go outside, we shake our heads at the cacophony created by thousands of small wings and the fat bodies that sit underneath…
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Written in Arlington poetry anthology
I was so pleased to have my poem “Eleven One” featured in the new Written in Arlington anthology and on the book’s website just before its November 2020 launch! But it was a true delight to be part of the book’s January 24, 2021 reading organized by 1455, a literary arts organization and writing workspace and retreat…
Who makes a mother’s day successful?
Am I the only one who doesn’t find the efforts of everyone else’s children on Mother’s Day heartwarming? Not gonna happen around these parts, I think. It’s not like I’ve never gotten any appreciation from my children. For the most part they’re good kids. But celebrations are not something we’ve ever done well. And now…
Fall into Winter (again)
Although much has changed since this summer-fall recap post was originally written in December 2019, I’m backdating the post upon belated publication to reflect my reality at that time. —— When I look back on past Novembers when I did NaPoWriMo – National Poetry Writing Month – I love knowing that I found joy in…
Bright spots in spring
Before the long days of summer parenting melt my brain, I want to capture some of the good that happened this spring. I wrote in late April about what life looked like in the first two months of my separation from my husband. Daily journaling for myself has become very important, but time capsules captured…
What this spring brings
After BlogHer Health, I did lots of thinking about purpose and passion, about time and transition, about mothering and more. The month of January stretched wide, like the mouth of an animal whose jaws seem to magically open to the horizon. I began using The Best Part of My Day Healing Journal and began understanding how…
Recap: Inspiring BlogHer18 Health conference!
BlogHer18 Health, the first health-focused conference produced by BlogHer and SheKnows Media, was a terrific two days full of inspiring speakers, education and connection. To say that I’m glad I went is a profound understatement! It was terrific to be in a space with a shared language of health and wellness being spoken everywhere! I loved it! More…
It all comes back to – or starts with – childhood
Five years ago, in January 2013, shortly before I was to turn 40, I experienced something of a seismic shift from which I’m still feeling aftershocks. In the space of just a few weeks, I had the opportunity to interview three amazing people and be present to the same message told from three different perspectives:…
Why I feel better… and worse (?!)
Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a post called “Why I feel better” that detailed my supplement regimen and other healing protocols that I thought were helping with my physical and emotional/mental health. I’ve been feeling of late like doing another documenting, given that I feel like I’m made some significant improvements in the…
Transformation and vision – big words, small steps
If I had to draw a picture of the past few months, it would be something like a tornado, all swirly and intense with flecks of debris scattered throughout. Edited to add: Curiously, the day after I originally published this post, I found I had accidentally taken a fuzzy swirling photo of my foot during…
Join me at Listen to Your Mother DC!
I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be part of this year’s Listen to Your Mother DC cast! If you haven’t ever attended a LTYM performance, make this your year! It is, in fact, the final year of the program as it’s been done around the country with original stories in each city. It’s going to instead become a…
Now appearing… in two new anthologies!
I’m pleased to announce that I have work appearing in two new anthologies! Abundant Grace is an anthology of fiction by DC-area women writers. It was published in November 2016 by Paycock Press. My story, “Out of Scale,” comes from the novel I am writing. The story of my 2006 c-section birth appears in a new anthology, Birth…
Water me like a new lawn or watch me wither
My lawn and I have a lot in common. We both have struggled over the past several years, and we both require a lot of maintenance to thrive. When we first moved into this home that we fully renovated on the inside, there was no lawn. There were dozens – hundreds? – of baby oak…
What we teach our children, and ourselves
When I was halfway through my first pregnancy, I found myself startled to realize that I would be giving birth to a white male. After all the time I had spent teaching about race, gender and class privilege, I wondered how I could ensure that my son wouldn’t grow up feeling entitled. Last spring, as…
The highs and the lows of living full out in the world with chronic illness
I felt so much stronger this year. My energy was better. I made it through that whole long spring time of Mercury Retrograde with nary a blip in my emotional mojo. Morning yoga was a regular thing, and I’d been walking or using the elliptical with some regularly. I had been making progress on my…
Lab report & retort
If you don’t think blood test results from the lab are super exciting, I get it. It’s not like I expected to be distracted the entire afternoon by their bolded “high” numbers. I would have preferred to actually look at my children, to attend to them instead of breaking the rules about no screen time…
Declaring my love…for essential oils
Here is the post where I share that I am getting serious about incorporating essential oils into my family’s healing regimen. This time, it’s for real. I’ve been using essential oils for a long time and have been ordering them through a distributor since 2003! For a while, I built up a supply, loved some…
What I’ve Been Up To!
It was February the last time I wrote, in the wake of a Femworking meeting after which two members challenged me to think about what success means to me. Things have been moving a lot since then! I was also getting some coaching and working with a therapist, both of which helped me to integrate…
Missing the moment, and then not
When I saw the other parents in the room at my daughter’s last dance class of the session, I froze. What were they all doing in there? I was supposed to be on a phone call! I mean, I could have figured we might be invited in at the end of class, but from the…
A blissful hour: Massage Envy review
When I heard that Massage Envy was looking for review bloggers from TheDCMoms.com, I relished the idea of a free massage. However, as someone with chemical sensitivities, I was worried that the place or its products might have fragrances that might trigger a reaction. Fortunately, the manager of the Potomac Yard location in Arlington assured me…