real, raw motherhood
“Why am I not good? Why am I not perfect?”, my daughter lamented the other night. “You ARE good but you’re right, you are not perfect. That’s because nobody’s perfect. Your Daddy is not perfect. I am not perfect…But… You know what I’m perfect at? I’m perfect at making progress. That’s all that’s required. To…
Today’s Valentine’s day and my planner’s journaling prompt read: “What type of love is most important to you?”. As much as I value the romantic love that joins me to my husband and the maternal love that bonds me to my daughter, self-love is what I find most important. Not ego. Not vanity. Self-Love. Forgiveness.…
We celebrated her 9th birthday last week. 9 years “old”. Half way to 18. It goes by so fast. Everyone says it because it’s true. But when you’re deep in the trenches of motherhood, and tired day in day out, it’s hard to stand back and get perspective. Then one day you realize the baby…
In August 2018, I was awarded my black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by my teacher-and husband– Burton Richardson. Noone was more surprised than me that day. It happened so much earlier than I had expected. When the first burst of shock and excitement had subsided, two questions crowded out every other thought in my…
It’s a new year! I love new years. I love fresh starts. Goals to set. Resolutions to make. January may be one of my favorite months of the year. Full of hope and possibilities. 2018 was good to me. It was filled with travels, good health, achievements (I earned my black belt in Jiu Jitsu)…
I have just finished reading The Paper Bag Christmas. With each chapter, my heart swelled up until it finally burst open and I lay sobbing in my bed. A Christmas miracle had jumped from the pages into my heart. I sensed my true essence. I wanted to bottle it up for safe keeping. I wanted to…
A review of Touch Type Read and Spell, a multi-sensory program that not only teaches touch typing but also teaches phonics and spelling rules in a way that children love. (appropriate for children with dyslexia and other learning challenges.)
This anniversary morning came and we took no notice. The iphone reminded us: three years ago today, I dropped him off at Cedar Sinai hospital in Beverly Hills, California, where a surgeon would remove all 5 feet of his large intestine. Life without a colon is not something you can imagine or prepare for. Forget…
It’s the end of the day and tonight, unlike so many other nights, I am not deep to the bone tired. Tonight, I feel great. I’m sitting on my lanai sipping a glass of wine. A gentle breeze sways the sheer white curtains my husband helped me install yesterday. The Christmas lights we hang year-long…
At 8.30 pm on Wednesday, we said goodbye to yet another neighbor. The Johnsons had lived at the end of our private lane, two houses down from us for just over 5 years now. They moved in with one tiny tot and moved out with two: a first grader girl and a toddler boy. (Their…