A Mindful Life

Packing is nearly complete. What remains are some toys, dishes, the pantry, and the fridge. And a few other miscellaneous items. Tuesday we move. And start to settle in. And return to the old house to take a few stray items and clean a bit. We return the keys on May 31, and this chapter [...]

It had been a rough winter for Claire. She got sick nearly every month since September (and coincidentally she started preschool one day a week that month), had two bouts of pneumonia, and required treatments to help her breathe. The latest illness began on Mother’s Day, and by Thursday she was in a spiral of [...]

Packing, packing, packing, sick kid, Urgent Care, ear infection, packing, packing, 104F fever, coddling, cuddling, rocking, dosing, televisioning, sorting, packing. Oh my god, still more packing!. Haven’t made a dent and yet have a ton of boxes already. We move in two weeks. Husband is at the house doing all sorts of little things to [...]

These are the hands of my mother (on the right) and my aunt (her only sibling). These hands have kneaded dough, stirred soup, opened jars with stuck lids, chopped onions, basted roasts, shucked corn, grated cheese, sliced melon. These hands have caressed fevered foreheads, wiped bottoms, rubbed calamine lotion on sunburn, brushed unruly tangled hair, [...]

Lookee what I made! I finally took a lesson on how to use the sewing machine I was given for my birthday 11 months ago. Now that I know my way around the machine (the basics, at least) there will be no stopping me. This one is for Claire. (Pillowcases, anyone? When I learned to [...]

Last week was rough for me and Claire. She had a slight cold, and she simply would not nap. I’d rock her, she was clearly tired, but no sleep came. By dinnertime each day she was strung out and whiny, and I was on edge. I was not ready to give up her nap, dammit! [...]