Tag: family
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What If Mothers Just Said No?
What if mothers just said no? What if we decided not to be the ones to carry the heavy burden of the mental load for our families and society at large? What if we set down these invisible responsibilities that weigh us down? Before the weight of it all crushes us. What if we…
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Love and Loss
This morning, as I was baking a cake and doling out spoonfuls of batter to eager little mouths and orchestrating a silly celebration for my younger daughter’s half-birthday, millions of other women were marking this day with much less joyous memories. October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, and the entire month of…
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My Darlings, I Delight in You
My Darlings, I hope you know, deep in your heart, how much I delight in you. I hope you see it. I hope you see past my tired eyes and my distracted mind. I hope you see the love and pride and joy that resides within those weary eyes. I hope you see how they…
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A Love Like That
What is it that makes marriage work? What makes love last? There are probably a million different answers to these questions. Depending on the marriage, depending on the love. But the only marriage I know is mine, the only love my husband’s. So in the weeks leading up to this day, our sixth anniversary, the…
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These First Five Years
“I vow to lift you up when you are down and soar with you when you are in the clouds,” he said. “I vow to always rise to your challenge and strive daily to better myself and our relationship,” I responded. On this day five years ago, my husband and I threw these promises, these…
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On the Move Again
Question: What is more fun than moving twice in six months with two young kids? Answer: Anything. And yet, this is what our family is doing. Unpacked boxes still decorate the floor of our current house as the real decor remains un-hung. A short four months ago, we packed up our humble home and hauled…
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When Love Is Not Enough
The room is dark as I quietly creep in and gaze down at my older daughter’s sweet sleeping face, filled with the peace of a deep slumber. I kneel beside her little bed and touch her lips, pursed in a rare moment of silence, as they have been busy all day forming new words. I…
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Happy Hygge-Days!
Christmas may have come and gone, but the long, cold winter still stretches endlessly in front of us. We have sixty more days of this snowy season, to be exact. People love to hate winter; complaining about the cold seems to be a favorite national pastime. And I get it. I live in Chicago, so…
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The First Ten
Today marks ten years since I first met my husband. A decade. A third of my life I’ve now spent with this man. When I think back to that fateful night ten years ago, it feels like the time that’s passed is both a lifetime and a blink. In the span of the last decade…
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Enough with the Stuff
The holiday season is officially upon us and though the Thanksgiving turkey has yet to be cooked, everyone is in a frenzy to start checking gifts off Christmas lists. Black Friday is in t-minus 7 days, which means we have less than a week to figure out how to get the most for the cheapest.…
The Small Wanders 