that’s where I’ve been
Been thinking about you. Hope everything is well. My friend texted me this week to check-in. I've been quiet off and on the internet. She noticed. I have a handful of similar messages on Instagram, I can see the preview of DMs asking if I'm okay, telling me I'm missed, hoping that I'm … [Read More...]
addiction in five stories…
"Shawn met a woman, and she sobered him up," my dad said. My aunt said. Everyone said. "That's not normally how that works," I said, as gently as possible. I understand the desperate desire for this to be true. The sudden death of his mom in a car accident, years of addiction, the loss of … [Read More...]
the best rice crispy treats you’ll ever eat…
That's a bold title, but I'm actually really confident in this assertion. These are the best rice crispy treats you'll ever eat. Just do exactly as I say and you, too, will be the hit of every party, gathering, or after school snack. A few things before we begin. (I'm not going to tell you a … [Read More...]
In the Jordan’s water or any other…
Dennis called on Thursday to talk about Harper. "She wants to be baptized," he said as middle schoolers talked and yelled in the background. "She expressed interest last night during service." This wasn't unexpected. My daughter has wanted to be baptized since late 2019. We were making our … [Read More...]
a fresh start…
I removed over 1,000 posts. It was time. I've done this before, whittling down the blog posts that live here. I've been writing on this blog since 2008, and we—this blog and myself—have seen some things. In 2014 (I think?), I paid someone to redesign my blog and move it to a bigger … [Read More...]
on my porch swing…
In July, the rain finally came, flooding the little pockets of bare earth under the trees lining the cornfield. It got hot, but we opened the windows for a few days, letting in the breeze and letting out the stuffy, stale air. I sat on my porch swing. I drove to doctor's appointments, … [Read More...]
New York City Birthday Trip…
4745 days676 weeks156 months13 years She’s been here for 13 years. All the cliches about time fit here. All of them, insert them right here: ___ We surprised our soon-to-be 13 year old with a trip to New York City in February. When the girls were little, and we were very poor, we dreamed … [Read More...]
2021 Holiday Movie Guide…
In November, the Graham girls (Ellie, Harper, and myself) decided to dedicate ourselves to hours of movie watching for the sake of others. We are nothing if not givers, and we decided a great way to use our precious time would be to watch as many holiday movies as possible and then tell others about … [Read More...]
2021 Ultimate Holiday Baking Menu…
The night before Thanksgiving, a friend and I sat at my kitchen table. We talked about kids and travel plans. We talked about changing family dynamics and grief. We talked about what we were learning, what we were struggling with, and what Christmas traditions we wanted to continue this … [Read More...]
I Deleted Facebook…
No, really, it's gone. I've been dreaming about it for a while; this break up has been slowly coming for years. It began four or five years ago when I deleted it from my phone. I wanted one less thing to waste time on so I removed the Facebook app. It was probably around 2016. I was … [Read More...]
Gift Ideas: Games & Puzzles…
Okay, this is it. The final gift list for 2021. And this one might be the most fun? The Grahams play a lot of games. We play games when we camp. We play games on the back porch on summer evenings. We play games a lot in the cold winter months. We also do a lot of puzzles in the winter. Winter … [Read More...]
