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Step for step

Posted on August 27, 2012

We just spent a week away with my family. The girls reveled in the superstarness of their Aunt Abbie. Beso, the extravagantly effeminate cocker spaniel, delighted in the spoiling he got from Grandma, Sean and I talked politics with Papa. As the days bled together the lines of worry slipped from our faces. Watching the girls romp on the beach—building fortresses, protecting them with dams, enlisting the help of other kids and looking out for each other reminded me of the good we all have inside of us. I am so grateful for having these three beautiful spirits. I am also giving thanks for all of you out there who remind me that we are never alone, no matter how dark it may seem…

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Akin to another rape

Posted on August 20, 2012

UPDATE: Please be aware that this post may be a trigger. The content of the post may be graphic and reignite distress. I am not one to jump on pop-culture or political hate trains, but every once in a while something happens that is too important not to address. It wasn’t a week ago that Sean and I were talking about the future in store with three daughters. This happens each year as we approach the back-to-school gauntlet. We probably jumped too far ahead, thinking about how we have to teach them how to protect themselves from mean girls and aggressive boys. Before I knew it we were talking about the girls driving. “If they want to go on a date, that’s fine, but…

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Trying New Things

Posted on August 18, 2012

One of the things I love about being a mom to my three girls is how game they are for just about anything. They hear “Why don’t you try this?” and almost immediately they shrug their shoulders and chirp, “Sure” or “Ok.” Of course there are things that they don’t dive into—guacamole, grapefruit, dancing on stage, but for the most part they are tight, little bundles of “I bet I can do that.” It’s inspiring and, unlike some of the other things they accomplish, my ability to genuinely marvel at their willing spirits never fades. This picture took place on a hot, sloping sidewalk. “Hey, girls, look at the wall, go pretend you are walking up stairs and I’ll take your picture.” They took…

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Anatomy of an Unplanned Memory

Posted on August 12, 2012

As the girls move beyond the toddler years and finding something to do that all three can agree to becomes more challenging, I find that I say, “It’ll make a great memory,” less and less. It isn’t that I don’t want that to be the case, it’s more that by setting that expectation I put too much pressure on us all. We lose our ability to give ourselves to the moments and instead work artificially to make a memory. It fails. Friday I didn’t have childcare set up and I’d been feeling the need to focus on the girls, so staying out of the office and away from my computer seemed like what I needed to do. I’d sent out a flurry of emails…

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Say No

Posted on August 10, 2012

I’ve been reading more blogs lately. It’s equal parts wanting escapism and wanting community. I have discovered that each August brings with it a kind of fatigue and panic. I imagine it has something to do with hitting the two month mark of juggling an unpredicatble schedule—camp proves too much for the girls and they need a break, clients come out of the woodwork and request meetings that suggest they know when I can’t meet and will take no substitute and despite a long winter, I become disenchanted with the oppressive humidity and find my fuse grows shorter by the day. I’ve read about not being superhuman, about transitioning to new truths,  and I’ve been contemplating the inevitable march to the next thing that…

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