A Mom's Life

He thought it was going to be a typical Saturday. He arose from the couch at 5 am, still wearing his jeans, belt, and sweater from the night before. The dog, who had been serving as his blanket, stood by the door waiting for his master to let him out so he could bark at the moon. The fat gray cat, that had been serving as his scarf, meowed incessantly, circling about his feet, making him stumble and curse under his breath. He grabbed a diet coke, fed the cats, and fell back onto the couch in hopes to catch a few more moments of sleep. Until a small shadow made its way down the hallway toward him and launched her body on him. The sun had yet to rise and he was awake for the day. As the hours passed he went through the motions of the day, just like any other weekend day. He wrote checks. He checked email. He emptied the trash. He referreed fights between the kids. If he was lucky, he'd be able to sneak out to the dump, take the long way home, and get some peace and quiet. He was j...

"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater." ― J.R.R. Tolkien On New Year's Eve, a friend and I were texting one another and she wrote that she hopes the coming year will be better for me than this year has been. My knee-jerk response to her was to question that comment and fire back about how great my life is, citing good health and the importance of family and friends. She wrote right back, apologizing and mentioning a few trouble spots for me, moments that I have spoken with her about, and asked for her counsel on numerous occassions. After a string of many texts back and forth, we seemed to get on the same page and I let her know I was thankful for her wish and her friendship. I send tons of texts each day but this particular virtual conversation has lingered with me. I learned a few things from this inci...