It’s that time of year again when kids are heading to college, training camps, or starting out on their own. It was this situation that inspired Not So Secret Love Letters’ first post. And, in honor of this, here are ten things I learned last year that may help you this year. 1. They’re his kids first. He …
Crawling to the Finish Line
I am over this school year. I am also officially over making lunches, washing school uniforms, driving to and from softball games, helping with homework, and basically anything else schedule related. Oh, and I’m definitely over the alarm clock and reminding my ten-year-old that she does, in fact, need a shower and, no, she can’t lie in bed for ten …
Peace Does Not Necessarily Mean Quiet …
Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine my version of a peaceful home … the one where my youngest daughter is curled up on the sofa halfway through a reading book instead of one where I need to set a timer for her required thirty minutes of reading time. Sometimes when my kids are bickering, I worry they’ll end up …
Parenting with wisdom …
In my coffee cupboard I have a whole array of mugs. Each has a different word printed on them: Peace, Faith, Hope, Be Kind, Wisdom, and Create. Every morning I choose the word I need most for the day. More often than not, the Wisdom mug is filled with my caffeine fix. My husband and I are raising three world …
The Comparison Solution
Comparison … it’s great until it isn’t. In my early days of parenting, I found comfort with other new parents as I talked about how to get our precious gift to sleep through the night. We talked post-partum poop, sore nipples, and physical healing. We commiserated together over the terrible twos and threenagers, and celebrated when strollers no longer accompanied …
Who will walk through the Red Sea with you?
I sat next to a lovely woman who was blooming in her second trimester of pregnancy. We saw each other often at church but didn’t often get a chance to talk. As I took a sip of my drink she commented, “you’ve done such a great job parenting your girls. How did you do it?” I laughed, a little embarrassed, …
It’s not goodbye when Jesus is by their side
Two months ago my eldest daughter graduated from high school. As she stood smiling for the camera with her certificate in hand, I sat up a little straighter, face beaming, and my heart swelling with love. This was her moment to celebrate everything she has persevered for, overcome, and achieved. I thought we’d be celebrating all summer … I thought …