Author: Courtney
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What Writing Feels Like
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” This quote, famously, if perhaps erroneously attributed to Earnest Hemingway, resonates with writers, myself included, for a reason. Not to prop up the myth that we must be suffering artists, for whom writing and living a creative life is…
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What Writing Looks Like
For the longest time, I believed that writing had to look a certain way. I bought into the narrative that crafting a compelling story was contingent on specific circumstances. I used to think writing had to take place in a local coffee shop, inspired by the background soundtrack of folksy music and hipster chatter. I…
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How to Claim Who You Already Are
I did not always want to be a writer. I was not one of those children who carried around a journal full of stories she’d spent every spare moment composing. I have not pursued writing with a focused tenacity, blocking out all else in life. I did not go to school to study the intricacies…
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10 Ways I Learned to Love Myself this Year
As the year draws to a close, it’s got me thinking. I’m not particularly a New Year’s Resolution person, but I do think the passing of one year and dawning of another provides an opportunity for assessment. To acknowledge what went well, question what didn’t, let go of what no longer serves, and move forward…
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What Parents (and Kids) Really Need this Holiday Season
The store was crowded and hot and we’d been in there far too long. Perched in the shopping cart, my three-year old began yawning, a sure sign his nap time window was passing me by and we were living on borrowed time. Meanwhile, my six-year-old dutifully pushed the cart while I strode through aisles, looking…
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Finding the Beauty Through the Weeds
I’ve written before about my affinity towards weeds – their persistence, their unconventional beauty, their unsung purpose. But there can also be a dark side to weeds, a literal choking out of light. Weeds, seemingly innocuous at first, can grow so thick and fast that it makes thriving, or even surviving, impossible for other important…
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The Great Unfurling of Growing Up
Eight years. Eight years since I crossed the holy threshold of birth to become a mother. Dreams brought to life with the great ache of joy; quivering, squeezing, stretching until I emerged as something wholly new, holding someone holy and new. And now, through the creeping crawl of the days and the great strides of…
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What it Means to Live a Creative Life
For the longest time, I didn’t consider myself a creative person. Though I loved to explore the world and my mind with curiosity, follow inspiration, and make new and different things, it never felt like enough. Unless I had published a book or released a song or had art displayed in a gallery or poetry…
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Five Favorites: Lubec, Maine & Campobello Island, Canada
The car headed north, weaving along the rocky coastline. We’d chosen the scenic route, rarely a bad choice, unless kids are involved. But on this day, they were amenable. Maybe it was the soothing evergreen forests or the glimpses of the foggy sea that kept them at peace. More likely it was the snacks. Our…
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Five Favorites: Saint Andrews, Canada
I’ve always dreamed of traveling internationally with my kids. The thought of exploring new cultures and languages with them. Exposing them to perspectives outside of their home country. Expanding their horizons and broadening their knowledge. As it turned out, our first international venture with the kids was less idyllic and more just trying to convince…
The Small Wanders 