Old School Posts

• Words for Mom

  {Five. Variations on a compelling theme.} Dear Mom, One year and one day ago, I wrote you a birthday letter. I titled it: I Love You to Pieces. I talked about how I inherited this phrase from you, how I now say it to my girls all the time. And I do. I also talked about Toddler's first parent

• How Much Do You Weigh?

  You are not imagining things. I did just ask that question, that forbidden question: How much do you weigh? And I do not expect you to answer it. Feel free if so inclined, but no pressure. I am not going to answer my question either. Even though I have it in my head. Yes, I am one of those crazy

• The No Spouse Zone

  Husband went to his company holiday party. I did not. Because I wasn't invited. Apparently, this is pretty common. And I guess it makes sense. Numbers-wise. Professional team-bonding-wise. And I was fine with it. Because my face wasn't exactly party ready. And I was busy at home, Googling The Ex.

• Three Seconds!

  Hi guys! A quick little late afternoon post here. I just learned that LIFE AFTER YES is among the top four picks for the SheKnows final book club of the year. I am thrilled and honored and psyched at this opportunity to further spread the word about my rookie novel. Please click here and vote for LA

• What a Wonderful Word

  Toddler has a new favorite word. Why? No, I'm not asking you why she has a new favorite word. Her new favorite word is why. I'm not sure when this why business started. Maybe a week or so ago. No matter what I say these days, I know just what to expect. That telltale widening of ocean blue, t

• A Yummy Day

  Five years old. Hair past her waist. It was time. Time for the First Haircut. We'd been putting it off because her hair is so beautiful and it had curls at the end and because, frankly, I couldn't deal. With the passage of time, the snip of the scissors, any of it. I don't want to lose my curls,

• I Will Always Care

  Recently, a friend asked me something. How did you learn to not care what other people think of you? I smiled. We were talking about my decision to walk away from law and to write. I told her that up to the point when I quit my job at the firm I'd never taken a real risk in my life. I ha

• What Is Love?

  "All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love." Leo Tolstoy Today is Valentine's Day. A Hallmark holiday. A day to swim in sugary pinks and reds. A day to celebrate love. But what is love? We spend so much time uttering this word, but how many of

• The Stream

  {Toddler, circa June 2009} "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." Henry David Thoreau Tuesday. August 31, 2010. What's so special about today? Nothing. Something. Everything. Today is a pocket of time. Of seconds and minutes and hours. Of responsibilities and meetings and appointments. Be

• Your First Pigtails

  We put your hair in pigtails for the first time yesterday. And you looked cute, impossibly so. But you also looked immediately older, your blue eyes suddenly wise. You looked up at me, and furrowed your brow, and in that moment I saw your sisters, both of them. And I saw the future. A bright fut