“Can I say a bad word?” At least he asked permission. “If you really have to, go in the bathroom and yell it into the toilet,” I offered...

“Mom, why are you crying?” His question came from a place of innocence that I feared was about to fade before my eyes, which could no...

The six year old practices every bad word he knows in one long stream, shot directly at my quiet request to put on fresh underwear. Three...

She remembered things differently from what I could recall. Seasoned in some ways, I couldn’t see what was right in front of me. Despite...

“Mom, why is your garden really empty right now?” The words of my five-year-old came from a place of curiosity. The corn stalks that had...

Last year, they were probably heard screaming through to the second floor of the clinic, and there were fights…battles…battles that they...

As we pulled up the long drive to my friend’s house, we were greeted enthusiastically by a little girl, the picture of sunshine, wielding...

“Everything is either a blessing or a lesson.” Who was it that said that, anyway? Maybe, some things can be both of those at the same...

Love, young love, I hope you are well. At least we now both Have a story to tell. —Keaton Henson, “Sarah Minor” I should have known by...

I had a dream that I lost little Gabriel, only he was somehow also Moses. We were at a medical appointment at a hospital. He was with me...

I would always have someone with me, and I would never be lonely, not ever again. At twenty-four, and I was about to have my first baby....

It’s helpful, necessary, and smart. It’s good practice. Also, it’s terrifying. There’s no more solace to be found in the garden these...

It was hard to discern where the brilliant blue sky became the ocean’s choppy waves, where the hope looked more like fear. From his...

Monday had a promising start: the sun shone brightly, and I had a few minutes to spare before I would be meeting my longtime friend, so I...

“Don’t let anyone say that it’s just a game…” A friend mentioned that in just a few weeks, it will be time for pitchers and catchers to...

As a fresh spring chicken of a foster parent, I was given by one of my dearest friends a candy-pink shirt with the words, “Love is Not...

I guess you only get so many chances, at least in this life. Nancy, my favorite chicken, went quietly in the early morning cold of All...

It’s the eve of your twelfth birthday. The picture in my head may have been a bit different from what I was expecting, but I should have...

My nine-year-old and a couple of his buddies were loading into our car after baseball practice. Before I had started the engine, he...

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding.” –Proverbs 3:5-6 “Shut up, you stupid idiot, or else...