Life Lessons from the Norovirus
It was adding up to be a perfect night: the hubs was out of town, the kids were bathed and starting to rub their eyes and this momma had her eye on a nice cup of tea and a new book. Okay, why lie, all I wanted was a glass of wine, my jammies and […]
Confession: I Don’t Like My Kids
When I was in middle school my sister and I fought like cats and dogs. Actually, that’s not true. We were worse. Way worse. We fought like two bridezillas at a Vera Wang sample sale. We were vicious. One afternoon my sister and I were verbally abusing each other as we climbed into my mother’s […]
The Final Elf on the Shelf
I had my first holiday break down this week. The shopping, the cards, work piling up, kids home from school…it all got to me. I resorted to wrapping presents until early morning hours to calm my frazzled nerves. I thought wrapping the mountain of gifts would make the stress go away. Nope. I woke up […]
To My Daughter on Your 2nd Birthday
To my dearest daughter on your second birthday, I wish I could look back on this day with loving memories and joy. But I can’t. Your birth date was one of the most difficult days of my life. I will never forget the sounds and sterile surroundings of the OR room. Your daddy sat behind […]
Controlling Life’s Hurricane’s
Last week I laid in bed next to my husband. We just turned our lamps off and I rolled onto his shoulder and said, “I am so happy. We are so blessed. How did we get so lucky?” “I don’t know,” he said, “Life is so good. Good night baby.” He kissed my head and […]
Hurricane Homesickness
The outer bands of Hurricane Hermine are pounding down on our metal roof as I write. We are soaking up (and charging up) our remaining hours before the inevitable power outage. Our refrigerator is stocked with water, milk and (let’s be honest) wine. Our pantry is also stocked with the essentials: bread, peanut butter, every […]
All Dogs Go to Heaven
10am. My sweet Lola is curled up in my lap as I write. In a few hours, I will give her a final hug and kiss. My precious baby, my first baby. Her body is tired and I can’t bear to watch her suffer anymore. Even Lilly, our bulldog, knows it is time. She is […]
unBRoken
Just over a week ago, my beloved hometown of Baton Rouge was practically washed away in one of the worst floods in US history. My 93-year old grandmother and mom were stranded on the interstate for over 30-hours. Some of my dearest friends and their families have lost absolutely everything. While my friends spent the […]
Everything I Know, (Some of It) I Learned from My Dad
He is going to kill me for doing this, but love it at the same time. He will call me and say, “You rascal! That was fantastic. You’re such a great writer. I’m so proud of you. You’re terrific. I love you.” Yep, that’s my daddy. Always a silver lining. Always something positive. Always a […]
On Being Still
Weekends in treatment were slow…and I mean sloooooow. It was so frustrating to have so much downtime in our schedule. We should be ‘working’ and ‘doing’, marking things off our imaginary Recovery To Do list. Having an empty day meant I was being unproductive and lazy. As it turns out, down time at the Carolina House was […]