A Mom's Life

Have you given a lot of thought to what makes a good life partner? Have you wondered if there is such a thing as a soul mate? When I was younger, I have to confess, I didn't think about it at all. Not one bit. I may have thought about what makes a good partner for....an evening....or a mate for...a good time...(Did I just write that publicly?)As a young adult, life was not about the future, it was about the moment and what I wanted at that exact moment. I wasn't looking for a soul mate. When I was 22, I'm not sure I had a soul to mate with another. When I met Andy, those fancy, scientific-y dating websites weren't around, or at least weren't considered reputable. For me, "dating" in my late teens and early twenties required minimal thought and generally included excessive amounts of alcohol, karaoke and bad decision-making. Given my poor planning, the fact that I have been co-habitating with the same person for 14 years, and married to him for 10, is a li...

Before the sun rises most mornings, I can hear a little voice down the hallway. In my just awoken state, it almost sounds like a room full of people, laughing, talking, dreaming, and exisiting in an alternate reality. A reality that does not involve the boring day-to-day morning tasks associated with adulthood, like feeding the pets, packing lunch bags, showering and mentally motivating for the day ahead. In this room, a little girl is in a world all of her own. With a flashlight and a stuffed animal, a bunch of markers and a notebook, she is a princess in a castle. She is making friends, negotiating situations, and solving problems. She's in charge. She is the leader of her own world, an imaginary world that exists nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Without a word, she follows me around the house as I get ready. She carries a basket or a bag loaded with paper, crayons, stuffed animals and stickers. I watch from the corner of my eye as she draws a large, one-eyed rainbow...