Mai Thi Yen Trang was born in Vietnam in January, 1988. Her father, Choi, a gold miner, died in a cave-in, leaving her mother, Nguyen Thi My Kiem to care for Trang (6) and her three siblings: Nuong (8), Meeyoom (3), and Dung (in utero). Continue reading
Have you ever had a secret? One that you had to keep from everyone? One that was surely worse than everyone else’s secrets?
I carried the weight of a secret, and it wore me down. It kept me turning in bed when I desperately needed sleep. It masked the bright flavors of my favorite foods. It dulled the colors of my world. Continue reading
Hello, Friends!
Here’s a little sunshine for your Monday…
In November, I shared the Sternhagen family’s journey through a sad and bewildering time as their infant son Blake was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a condition that could dramatically shorten a child’s life (full story here). Continue reading
Last Saturday, my oldest son came down with a stomach virus that only lasted a couple hours. On Tuesday, the middle one had it; he bounced back quickly too. On Thursday, the youngest was a bit off–not much appetite, a few bad diapers–that whole thing. Continue reading
Ah yes, Valentine’s Day.
In the cold, dark depths of winter, a lot of folks are thinking about love. We’ve set aside a whole day to honor it—to find new ways to acknowledge or appreciate love. Continue reading
The holiday season has passed, and we trudge now into the long stretch of winter. This period is a quiet one. Sleigh bells and doorbells (and that deafening bell at the grocery store entrance) have ceased ringing. Choruses of voices, lulled. Continue reading
I couldn’t do crowds and lines this year. I skipped shopping at the mall. I skipped parties and white elephant gift exchanges. It was just too much to keep going out when I wanted to keep going in. Continue reading
Last week, I wrote about the decision to give my son Miles a doll for Christmas. While stewing over gift-giving options, I expressed my dilemma to a friend: “I just don’t know what to get these kids who have everything.”
To this, she replied, “Do you have to get them a gift?” Continue reading
All of life is a draft. We look ahead with expectations and hopes of what the future will bring, but often, despite our choices, despite our resolve, events or circumstances beyond our control force us to rethink our plans. We edit our pages, making grand revisions, accepting the twists and turns of our story, doing all we can with what we are given, determined to create a narrative that is beautiful, albeit messy — our own shabby, yet shimmering story. Continue reading
I slipped my bare feet from beneath the covers and tiptoed across the hardwood floor to the bathroom. Locking the door behind me, I quietly tore into the foil wrapper, removing the plastic stick marked PREGNANT and NOT PREGNANT. Continue reading
REVISIONS OF GRANDEUR 