Just around the time my middle son turned five and morphed into a loving, funny little human capable of logic and reasoning, my youngest turned three.
I should have seen this coming – the “threenage” years. I should have prepared myself for the onslaught of destruction and nastiness and upheaval that comes with the threes.
Come on, Harrison! Get your head in the game. Ear plugs. Fresh tennies. Rubber gloves, stat! Continue reading
Marriage is hard. It’s hard because life is hard. Because relationships are hard.
My Love and I are celebrating a decade of marriage today, and I mean CELEBRATING, because honestly, there was a time or two we didn’t know how we’d make it.
I’m dishing out truth today at HVFH about how two broken people kept their marriage from breaking.
Cheers to ten!
Stacy
*Featured image via Canva
A few people have asked what happened to the recent Grand Edits Guest Feature about the adoptive family from Indiana. We decided it was best to tuck the post away until the adoption is complete. We hope to bring it back soon! Thanks for the kind thoughts and prayers for this couple as they journey through the process of becoming family.
❤ Stacy
I recently interviewed two women living with Multiple Sclerosis for a Grand Edits guest feature. When I asked them to speak about the life they envisioned as young women compared to the reality of their lives today, they both agreed that though they never dreamed they’d have MS and surely don’t want MS, the diagnosis has allowed them to connect with and help others who are facing the same illness, or working through other life struggles.
I think about this often – the way our circumstances create opportunities to help others who are suffering.
In my days of volunteering as a client advocate at a pregnancy resource center, a young woman came to an appointment in distress because her baby (still in utero) had been diagnosed with renal hydronephrosis. This malformation causes dilation in the kidney pelvis and can mean surgical correction shortly after birth.
My client and I had a long conversation that day about the what-ifs. It’s hard for a momma to be faced with the possibility of her newborn baby being whisked off to surgery in his or her first days in the world. We talked a lot about fear that day. About vulnerability.
I told her I understood how she was feeling, and I really meant it. My own son had been diagnosed with renal hydronephrosis less than two years prior to the conversation. I remembered the diagnosis, the scans, the machines. I remembered the fear.
I started this blog in 2014 as a creative outlet and a means of anchoring myself in regular writing practice. I prayed that my work might be an encouragement to others, set a goal of 100 subscribers, and pressed “Publish.”
Things picked up faster than I expected. I started writing for Her View from Home, and several outside sites began picking up my essays, especially the following article, “Not My Child: Protecting My Son from a Sexual Predator.”
Dear Kids,
I cherish the construction-paper racecars and cut-out flowers you greeted me with this morning – charming expressions of your love and adoration. I’m sure you think it’s Mother’s Day and you owe me something, but honestly, I owe you something, too.
My three boys (okay, my four boys) were way into the MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU pun yesterday. They donned their Star Wars gear and waved colorful light sabers in my face at every opportunity.
Is anything more exciting to young boys than a battle between Darkness and Light?
But as much as Light vs. Darkness seems a game, a fantasy, to them, it’s been pretty real for me lately.
Have you ever felt that when you’re on a mission to carry out some weighty work, the powers of Darkness launch a full-out attack on your hopeful, bright-eyed self?
If you’ve ever craved Chinese takeout, you’ll swoon for this colorful stir-fry that’s similar to a Szechuan or Kung Pao chicken dish. The only thing missing is the freaky additives and preservatives.
This tasty entrée is spicy, tangy, sweet, and satisfying – and best of all, you don’t have to feel terrible for indulging!
Oh yeah, show me the recipe –>
As much as I love doing my quiet blog thing here at Revisions of Grandeur, it’s fun to step out and work with others who are doing creativity in other ways — and I was lucky enough to do that twice this month.
The first fun project was a team-up with my friend Jenny over at Three Letter Birds to create these funny and sweet Mother’s Day cards. I conjured the words and she made them sing with her magical design eye.
They turned out pretty wonderful, don’t you think?
The second collaboration was with another Jenny, the lovely and fearless editor of ForEveryMom, who kindly featured my essay about saying YES when you can. I’d love for you to give it a read this fine Monday morning and let me know what a YES looks like for you in the comments below.
If you’re a writer or other artsy type who feels the creative world can be a bit lonely, don’t forget all the others plugging away out there who might enjoy an ally. Reach out and team up, even for one day or one project.
Cheers, you artsy people,
Stacy
*featured image via Three Letter Birds
Like what you see? Find more like this here –>
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Thanks for visiting me here. ❤
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