Posts Tagged ‘relationships’
Space for Grace on my 39th Birthday
My daughter crawls into my arms, big brown eyes gazing down into mine that are adjusting to the daylight shining through the crack in our bedroom window shades. “Good morning, mommy,” she chirps in her soft, sweet almost two-year-old voice. I break a smile and we banter a bit. She continues, “Happy birthday, mommy.” My…
Read MoreShe’s Not a Baby Anymore
“I would like to bring Lily to the airport when you drop me off. That way, if she’s wondering where I am, she can remember that I went on an airplane (she knows them well by now after all of our travel together),” I told Dave a couple of days ago. But in this morning’s…
Read MoreWOW: The White Dress
The slit in the thick silk curtain spreads, and the glisten of a satin skirt leads her towards the mirror that is framed in whitewashed wood carved with floral detail in front of us. Shoulders softened down and slightly back, she glides up onto the circular wooden platform before the mirror. A small crystal chandelier…
Read MoreWhat’s It Like Being Social Media Free?
6 months ago, I deactivated my Facebook and Instagram accounts. When I deleted those icons from my phone, I felt two worlds evaporate into thin air. Literally, an entire existence, way of being, set of rituals, and rhythms were gone at the swipe on a screen. I thought I might miss the experience of…
Read MoreWOW: Saying Goodbye to Early Motherhood
I stand at the kitchen counter pulling cilantro leaves one-by-one from their stems. I rarely put this much attention into prepping guacamole. Pluck. Gently place. Pluck. And, place. The gathering of delicate greens grows into a soft, fluffy hill. I look through the open arch between the kitchen counter and living room to watch my…
Read MoreThe Loneliness in Conformity
True belonging is not passive. It’s not the belonging that comes with just joining a group. It’s not fitting in or pretending or selling out because it’s safer. It’s a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are. We want true…
Read MoreWOW: “Mama, Mano”
As mandarin light climbs up and over shadowy peaks in the distance, rays of canary and maize outstretch like arms reaching skyward as the sun takes its first yawn of the morning. I breathe in a salted dewy mist as my daughter’s voice breaks the bird songs in the breeze. “Mama, mano,” she says. I…
Read MoreChoosing Love on Valentine’s Day
When I started on the path of choosing love almost a decade ago, one of the first questions I set out to answer was this: Can you truly love another if you don’t love yourself? I was genuinely puzzled by this question, but over time, I’ve come to understand that we can’t give what we…
Read MoreHow to Choose Love over the Holidays
A common theme I hear through the holiday season is one of self-abandonment. I know that terms sounds kind of harsh, but let’s think about what sometimes happens during this time of year. People can… Spend more than they are making…all in the spirit of “giving” Attend parties they don’t want to be at or…
Read MoreIn response to the “Stanford Rape Case”
As the media-coined “Stanford Rape Case” went viral over this past week, it revealed the essence of a “rape culture” that rightfully invokes rage in many of us. Details of the case and its sentencing struck the deep trenches of injustice. As strong emotions surfaced in the media and online in response to the case,…
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