Pirate Mom

I wasn’t raised to swashbuckle. When I birthed two boys, it did not take long for me to realize I was going to have to learn how to do so. As they dove off of staircases, thinking they could fly like Buzz Lightyear; received concussions trying to clamber out of their crib; and split chins…

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“Hey, can I tell you something?”

At first, I learned to prepare for it. Later, I sometimes even looked forward to it. And now I’m going to miss it. “Hi, Miss Kristine!” The tiny girl voice wafts through the backyard before I even have both feet on my deck. “Hey, can I tell you something?” This is how the ritual has…

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The 10-lb. faceoff

I stare at my friend as we sit on the yoga mat next to each other and I say: “Hi there, you. Have you gotten a little heavier over the past few months? Because it certainly feels like it.” Before you ask me if I’m lost my ever-lovin’ mind, don’t worry. I haven’t. My “friend”…

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The last perfect day

Hello, you. Thanks for stopping by. I have 11,000+ followers for this blog now. It wasn’t always this way. When I first began it, I was lucky if half a dozen people were reading–and that’s likely counting family members.  So I feel like I can republish a post from my early days that has new…

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On finding magic

From the time I was a little girl, I have been trying to connect to and inhabit from whence I came. That sounds odd, doesn’t it? Especially in our forward-looking society where bravery and gusto are celebrated. I was the girl surrounded by a multitude of people (my large family and the tribes they created)…

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From where I sit

I have been silent lately. I don’t want to add to the cacophony of voices. And yet, I feel things so deeply. I am beyond saddened at man’s inhumanity to man, laid out in my country for all to see. With the most unkind, entitled man at the helm. Who am I, right? Just another…

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Celebrating ma

Hi there. My Japanese readers might understand this headline, but those elsewhere who aren’t into design or finding their Zen probably think this post is about Mother’s Day. It’s not😊. But Happy Mother’s Day to those of you in the States who are soon to celebrate! Let the family spoil you this weekend. Stick with…

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Quarantine coffee

Hello there, my socially distanced friends. I’m applauding you from afar as you continue to keep to yourselves. Bravo! Keep it up. It’s working. I hope you’re still stocked with your coffee of choice. Not easy to get foodstuffs nowadays. At least not if you, like me, are ordering for delivery instead of going to…

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Through the window

Hello, my friend. I’m here. You there? Good. I think that’s the way they want us right now. As I walked my dog recently, I heard someone call my name. It took me a bit to locate the voice but when I did, it was coming from my neighbor’s window. Dan and Sandy, both 80-somethings,…

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Scenes from a Sunday morning waiting room

I had a morning of solidarity with the little people today. You know the ones. Just under three feet tall, sticky fingers, still mastering large multisyllabic words. And apparently, sick quite often, if the local urgent care center is any indication. I wandered into the waiting room of my local urgent care reluctantly this morning….

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Does he notice?

Does he notice that I fold his towels in a sweet way? That I use natural laundry soap and make him take his vitamins and pay up for the all-natural body wash to keep him healthy and away from crummy chemicals? Does he notice that I sneak glances at his 15-year-old self, trying to drink…

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You’re (not) too much

I have a wish for you this year, as we begin a shiny new decade. May you embrace whatever is true for you. May you embrace your “too.” “Too” as in when friends or family tell you that you are “too fill-in-the blank.” Too smart. Too sassy. Too independent. Too sensitive. Too brash. Too bookish….

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