A birthday gift for you

A birthday gift for you

by | Aug 26, 2013 | Motherhood

I was born 39 years ago today under an African sky in the middle of nowhere Zululand. This will be my twenty first birthday without the woman who gave me her name, her story, and her crooked smile. I have grown up and into her skin. Children in two different countries...
A promise for my daughter

A promise for my daughter

by | Aug 20, 2013 | Daughters, Motherhood

I’m tired and she’s tired. And she’s been weeping with frustration, her face a smudge of red cheeks and snotty trails. I go down on my knees beside her little, chubby legs. They’re curving over the edge of her green froggy potty stool and she is glaring...
How mothers are made

How mothers are made

by | Aug 11, 2013 | Cheering for you, Motherhood

I see you there. Aching with tired and the desperate hope for a few moments alone this evening. I see you cleaning that carpet again. I see those dishes that are on a constant rinse and repeat cycle. I see you settle down and get up and settle down and get up and...
For the ordinary days

For the ordinary days

by | Aug 1, 2013 | Family, Motherhood, The ordinary extraordinary

I’m sitting at the kitchen table and there are 14 years worth of scratches and markers and crayons lived into these planks. There’s an empty teacup and the smell of dirty baby diaper in the air. Boys will be back soon from the skate park with their dad and I haven’t...