As a Boy Thinketh: Homeschooling, Again I withdrew our two young sons, Sam and Charlie from public school on Thursday to homeschool, again. And I have no horror story to report. To all the teachers and administrators, I know your work is impossible. This is not about any one shortcoming or failure, this is about an opportunity. Some of you know me, but if you don’t we have six children. The oldest is 24, the youngest is six. And we …
Military Mom: Home of the Brave As a Military mom, the Fourth of July means something different than it used to. I don’t suppose I was ever very patriotic. I mean, I have fond memories of parades, fireworks, watermelon, and swimming until my 42 cousins and I passed out cold. And I know the pledge of allegiance, I vote, and I appreciate freedom. When I think of it. Which is more often now that I have an enlisted child. And …
It is safe to assume if you are reading this, you are a curious a mom. The title “mom,” rarely doesn’t have some descriptive attached to it. Soccer, bad, good, working, stay-at-home, world’s best, foster, adoptive, step, certainly I have left off a few, but you get the gist. Mom is a mixed bag of love, reward, joy, pain, and sleeplessness. It is only fair I warn you spring chicken moms, yes, newborns are hard. The terrible twos were invented by …
To the New Military Recruit’s Mom: A Year from Today A year ago I watched him be sworn in and then board a bus and drive away. I had watched the videos, met with his recruiter, and had gone over all the things… all the numerous things I had to say, and a few that I couldn’t leave left unsaid. With my head on the barrel like chest of a manbaby, the smallest and weakest of my litter a mere …
My son recently left for Marine Bootcamp. Through blurry eyes, I tried to focus on the stunning save the date cards that had just arrived in the mail. Our oldest daughter had a list of things to discuss. My heart and head were divided between belief and unbelief. Honestly, the package and discussion were a refreshing break from an 180-mile trip, “an only in Texas” record hot first day of spring, a mountain of laundry… and the ache in my temples, …
Grief drenched me. From the windows of my bedroom on the second story of our home on our 640-acre ranch, I could see the sky morphing from daytime to a water colored twilight. The master bedroom glowed with purple hues. My husband Justin, who always generous and thoughtful, had excused me for the evening. I could hear the acquainted sundown clamor. One of the college children was home to help. Our 14-year-old daughter would help too. The three youngest, our …
