Where Can I Go? The Solace of Psalm 139

I know my kids pretty well. Even before my youngest could communicate with words, he had a myriad of sounds I could easily translate. There was the whiney, fussy noise he made most often, which meant that he was hungry (that’s why it’s the sound he made most often). The scream of pain – I don’t like to hear that one, but I know it well from his toddler tumbles. The giggle that gurgles through even when he’s tired and crying but just can’t help but laugh because I’m playing peek-a-boo or giving him raspberries on the tummy. There is …

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Silencing the Inner “You Stink”

Have you met her? She can be a quiet whisper, or an irritating shriek. She loves it when you’re sad, thrives when you’re mad, and wants nothing more than to see you miserable. She tells you you’re not good enough. She compares you constantly with your friends, other mothers, and all those pretty pictures on Pinterest. What kind of mother ARE you? You ALWAYS get it wrong, don’t you? Nobody else feels like this. Just YOU. Ketchup doesn’t count as a vegetable. It never has. You’ll never be good ENOUGH. She’s had a lot of names, but me? I think …

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You Are Not Alone: The Chocolate Kiss Awards

  When my children were very small I had this nasty habit of withdrawing into myself when things really got tough. I was convinced I was alone in my struggles –  my inner voice telling me just what a terrible mom I was (a.k.a. my “inner ‘You Stink’ voice.” I am alone when my almost-four-year-old is wetting his pants. On purpose. I am alone as I daily carry a screaming child across the preschool parking lot in front of hundreds of other calm, well-behaved and quiet children and their parents. I am alone when my kids are prancing around the …

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