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Stop 6: Smoky Mountains, NC
If Outer Banks was all decadence and bliss, then the mountains were all ass-kicking and adventure. Base camp was a KOA campground in Cherokee, North Carolina, but we pretty much covered everything from...
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Stops 7, 8, & 9: Nashville, TN; Lynchburg TN; and Florida Caverns State Park, FL
Before heading back to Florida, we wanted to make a couple of stops in Tennessee for two of our favorite things: country music and Jack Daniels Whiskey.Stop 7 was Nashville, TN. We knew this was not a...
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The Last Stop: Destin, FL
Our last stop on the road trip was Destin Beach, Florida where it was just playing on the beach all day, every day. There were no giant bounce pillows or organized campground activities or a pool with...
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You are ten
I rememberwhen the nurse called outacross the roomyou were okaywe heard your cry"A redhead!" she announced"A redhead?!?"the reliefwe feltthe reliefI sawon your daddyit crumpled upon himfolded him inyou...
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I am a writer
I am a writeralways have beenI rememberwhen I was littleI did not covetmy sister's clothesso muchit was her typewriterI could notget to itfastenoughSometimesit lies dormantfor whatever the reasonI can...
View Article...but then her kids became people
I fell in love with the power of a perfectly-crafted sentence when I was in second grade.Ms. Davis was one of my least favorite teachers ever. She rarely smiled, had a raspy, nicotine voice, and had...
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Forty seven and happy (AF)
I am 47 today.Forty-seven!Definitely an age I used to think of as "old." Didn't we all? I mean, my parents were 47. My aunts and uncles...my teachers (gasp)...they were in their forties. Forties were...
View ArticleYou can love being with your kids--AND without them
I was at a kid's birthday party once, discussing vacation plans and travel tips with another mom, when I asked her if the trip she was planning was a family one, or just a getaway for her and her...
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I miss those little Valentine's Day cards
My knees barely fit under the table. It was my boys' coveted Little Einstein's arts-and-crafts-and-everything-they-wanted-to-do-table. There were accidental scribbles on it, and pieces of dried up...
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20 years ago
I walked awayfrom a life I thought I was supposed to wantfrom the plans I made because I thought I was supposed tofrom the picket fence dream that was someone else'sfrom the expectations everyone had...
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Graduating during the pandemic: this is not the way it was supposed to end
On the first day of kindergarten, Ben walked up to his teacher, unprompted, stuck out his hand, looked up, and announced, "Hi, I'm Ben. It's nice to meet you."When he was about 3 or 4, he asked me,...
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The travel blog returns: where we were supposed to be today
We were supposed to be on a plane right now, heading to Kauai. We had planned it and saved up for it for almost 2 years, but then the bizarre situation that is our world these days stepped in. It...
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Travel blog continues: Outer Banks, NC
Once again, we find ourselves not quite where we were "supposed" to be.We originally planned Outer Banks as our first "real stop" on our 5-week, semi-spontaneous RV road trip. We had 10 days scheduled...
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When your baby boy turns 12
Aidan Kai turns 12 today. Our baby. The post below from his 2nd birthday still pretty much covers his personality. We knew he was special and funny back then. He still is. But as he's grown up, we've...
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Returning to my writing and my self
After taking another hiatus from my writing, I realized (yet again) that I simply cannot notwrite. As it so often happens with The Universe, something perfectly timed landed in my lap (or my inbox,...
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The More the Merrier (as in more friends, but yeah, more writing too)
I've been revisiting a lot of my old writing lately.Since I recently started taking online writing workshops, I needed to carve out some sort of daily work space for my writing and lessons. Silence has...
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A not-so-private love letter
I wrote this in 2010 and it was originally posted here, as part of a love letter blogging challenge. Eleven years ago, and this--all of this--still rings true.Happy 19 years to the man who will forever...
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I Think COVID Fatigue Stole My Cinco de Mayo Mojo
Cinco de Mayo always gave us an excuse to act like college kids. Imagine a bunch of forty-year-olds running around in bathing suits and giant sombreros, posing for pictures with inflatable, human-size...
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I fell in love with Hawaii a very long time ago...
In honor of our departure tomorrow for our second trip to Hawaii with the boys......a throwback post explaining how my love for these islands began and how I felt right before we took our boys for the...
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Kai turns 13: No more babies here
You turned thirteen today.When you were in my belly, I used to tell your Daddy: "This one is gonna be mine." Your brother always had a special bond with your father and so I used to joke that I was...
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Holding On
I used to sneak into your roomwhile you sleptyour chubby little arms up over your headin relaxed tiny fiststhe dimples on your cheeksmatched the ones on your hands no matter how big you grewno matter...
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My babies are in high school...together
Today my babies went to high school together. The same babies for whom I started this blog. The same babies I thought would never grow up and let me sleep in late on a weekend or take a shower in...
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There is no such thing as a routine mammogram when your sister had breast cancer
Ten years ago this month, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.We had no family history. She did not have a lump. And they only found it because she is ridiculously, brilliantly diligent: she...
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Our teenagers still need us
When my children were little, I was exhausted from all the work: pottytraining, playdates, homework, bake sales, sleepless nights. I worried about their friendships, their grades, their eating habits,...
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Valentine's Day nostalgia
My babies are giants. When they hug me, I am still surprised by the scratchy stubble, broad backs, and nearly-grown-men muscles. But they are still my babies. (Don't worry. They know this. They are...
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