Enough, Never Again, and MARCH FOR OUR LIVES

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It’s been five months since my last post about guns. It’s been five weeks since seventeen people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It’s been three days since a gunman opened fire at a high school in Maryland. One of his two victims was taken off life support this afternoon. Today, nearly one hundred more Americans will die as a result of gun violence. Tomorrow, I’ll march. Because you see, this is urgent. But why did it take a bunch of … [Read more...]

Youth, Sports, and the Missing Adults

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My girls started playing soccer when they were five years old. My only goal for them was to have some easy fun. As the years flew by, volleyball and basketball were thrown into the mix. The purpose of their participation in sports expanded. It involved lessons in commitment, triumph over adversity, experience in losing gracefully and winning humbly. They improved their skills, knowing that the team depended on them playing their best. At no time then or now did I think a lesson learned … [Read more...]

Forgive me, this post is SAD!

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How best to explain my feelings this week? It’s not easy and I feel the president-elect has hijacked the word “sad” as in, “Sad!” But there it is, succinctly. I’m down in the dumps. I’m weepy. The girls and I and the husband were supposed to be on a plane right now, headed to the inauguration. We had planned to take a family trip to celebrate the first female president and the great country in which we live. Instead, I’m dealing with daughters who are also sad and angry and confused. They … [Read more...]

Day 3: surviving our new reality

I started writing this on Day 2. New ideas come up and I tweak the post. I realize I work at a school and so bad words are now ****. It’s so very stupid but nothing about this week makes sense to me. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross needs to come back from the grave and give us the five stages of post-election insanity. Recovery must include puppies. Anyhow, here’s what I have today: If you’re a Facebook friend of mine, you know that for me, the hardest part of Tuesday night was being a parent. I felt … [Read more...]

My silver linings playbook

C'mon, It's just a drawing.

Five minutes ago, I wrote about Goldie—off to high school. This fall, she’s applying to college and will be out of the house next August. Picture me now, lying on my stomach, pounding my fists and feet into the carpet. It appears I’m exercising; I’m actually falling apart. Too much? Over the top? Maybe. But understand I’ve struggled to define life’s purpose, as I know many of us do and have, and motherhood provided answers—immediate, well-defined, profound. Yes, Goldie will still need me from … [Read more...]

Friday’s four things: teenage girls, family dinners, Houston, and the obits

That's Miss T.

And because five was too many. A birthday. Miss T turned thirteen yesterday – one-three, 13, XIII – which means we now have three teenage girls living in our house. Sometimes I don’t know who they are, but mostly I do. They’re fantastic, except when they’re not, which ends up being the problem, if there is a problem. I wake up not certain of whom I will face, either over breakfast or picking up in the afternoon, though Goldie is driving herself now. (That’s a blessing, not a curse.) The … [Read more...]