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This is the good stuff…
Maybe the most important thing I took from that season was a new awareness that my purpose doesn’t lie out there somewhere, but right here in the ordinary cadence of my days. Who am I to love and serve? Let me see, who I can see from here?
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Parenting adults… a parallel journey
Our experiences were on a parallel track, and while I could appreciate the beauty of her journey, I also found that I needed to feel the grief and loss of change in mine.
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Baby Boucher 2019…
Soon we will be able to hold this new little one in our arms, until then, I am imagining a brown-haired boy with a familiar grin. I close my eyes and can envision the curve of his cheek, the smell of his hair, and his chunky thighs. My heart overflows with the sweetness and blessing of my new grandson.
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Just the two of us…
In the wake of this, Keith and I are taking a bit of a breather. Looking around at the space in our lives and thinking about what we want moving forward. Now seems like a good time to reassess and reimagine what we want to fill our lives.
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How many for dinner…
Over the past few years, the number has grown and is growing. First came the “others,” the girlfriend and boyfriend that have been grafted into the family. Then, came the grandson and the second is on the way. Our family is growing exponentially.
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A Central Organizing Principle…
On the other side of raising them, I feared I would never find another thing that would be as beautifully exasperating or as completely demanding as being Allie, Brian, and Stephanie’s mom. It wasn’t that I didn’t have things to do, but I seemed to have lost some central cord that helped me navigate life.
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Again, in a new way…
It always shocks me, the way they turn toward each other’s need. Even though they rub each other wrong and often nurse long standing grudges, when there is a need they arrive to support. I don’t know that we taught them that.
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The after years…
I have often said, this has been the hardest part of raising children. Hands down, the hardest. Sometimes I wonder if it is because this process seems to be left out. No one tells you that the after years will take your breath away.
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Raising adults…
My children have challenged everything I know or care about. They have worn us to the very bone, and they have pushed us beyond the edge. These cherub-faced wonders did not really rebel in high school when I was prepared for it, but as they transitioned into adulthood they brought us to our knees.
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Planning a wedding…
I found that brides rarely created a day that expressed the uniqueness of the couple. Instead, they focused on having the “right” wedding rather than the right wedding for them.