My husband had knee surgery a couple weeks ago. In the days leading up to it he went for a prep appointment with his surgeon. Daryl’s been through this surgery – repair to a meniscus (that cartilage pad inside your knee) – before. Ten years ago, when we were still boyfriend-and-girlfriend, his roommates and I helped him recover by … More On Being “Older”
Maybe you don’t have kids yet. Or maybe your kids are grown. Now that we have a new baby, I’m amazed at all the stuff I forgot about in the three years between our oldest and our newest. So for those of you who don’t currently have young kids, here are ten things parents of … More 10 Things Parents of Young Kids Wished Other People Knew
No matter how well you’ve prepared for certain big things in life, you can never be fully prepared. Whether you’re surrounded by well-wishers offering advice or totally alone on an island, there will be things you just didn’t predict until the big event happens. I had some idea of what welcoming baby #2 into our lives would … More 5 Things Nobody Told Me About Adding Baby #2
I love date night. From my first days with Daryl, I looked forward to catching up on life. I lived for our occasional road trips together because they meant hours to just hang out with my very favorite person. When we got married, we kept the date nights going. Every couple of weeks or so we’d head … More 10 Questions for Date Night
I’m currently on parental leave from my position as an associate pastor. Our church has been incredibly supportive of our growing family. Not everyone is so blessed. Parental leave is a sticky wicket in America. It shouldn’t be, but it is. From my own ongoing personal experience, here are 10 Reasons Parental Leave is Necessary. 10. Yesterday … More 10 Reasons Parental Leave is Necessary
If you haven’t read it, start with last Friday’s introductory post on Sabbath here. Have you ever been given a gift you didn’t really want? When I graduated high school one of my favorite teachers gave me four rolls of quarters at my graduation party. Sure, it was $40, but it seemed a really odd … More But Why? Sabbath Practice Part 2
At our birth conference a couple of weeks ago, our midwife* asked Daryl if he wanted to help catch the baby when it’s born. His face went white. “Well, I… I mean… I would love to… It’d be really amazing, but what if… what if I…” “Drop it?” she asked. “Um, yeah,” he said, sheepishly. “I’m not … More Our Helper
There’s a line in Jhumpa Lahiri’s (quite good) newest novel, The Lowland, that resonates with me lately. “The child was beginning to overwhelm her.” Lahiri writes about Gauri, a pregnant Indian woman newly arrived in America who struggles with the bodily nature of carrying a baby. The way her unborn daughter takes ownership of her womb-space, … More When Mind Over Matter Doesn’t Matter
One winter morning back when I was in seminary, an Old Testament professor of mine came to class ten minutes late. This was out of place for him – he was always exceedingly punctual. Yet Dr. H stumbled in the door just as many of us were gathering our books to leave. (There’s kind of an unspoken rule in academia that … More For When You’ve Come Undone
While I was at the dermatologist having a mole burned off my arm last week (See? California isn’t all palm trees and Disneyland. After living here for more than a year you get inaugurated into an annual dermatologist skin-burning appointment no matter how old you are…), the doctor asked when I was due. “Six weeks or so,” I said. “Congratulations!” she … More Six Rough Weeks, Three Long Months, and It’s All Good
Courtney Ellis 