What is “Special”, Anyway?

I love magazines. Love, love them. I’m not sure what it is exactly that I love the most…is it the vibrant images, the short tidbits of information, or maybe the way you just feel like the writers are talking just to you? All of that. I subscribe to about 10 a few magazines that I…

Why hello, lovely blog…how nice to see you again. I have missed leaving my words over here, but I’ve been up to something. A little project. Something I can’t quite tell you about just yet…but it involves playing around with words in a different way, and I love it. So much so that I actually…

How do you feel, when you walk through that door… Home for a quick visit; a week at best. Dropping your heavy duffel bag onto the floor while the dog slathers you with welcome back kisses. Same old home, same familiar spaces where you’ve spent most of your young life. But maybe a bit foreign…

On any given day, all over the world, mothers go about the business of mothering. It’s what we do. And to get us through these days and nights of mothering, we bond with each other over the stories. There are simple stories, powerful stories, stories that make you weepy, and stories that are wet-your-pants funny….

His voice surprises me every Sunday evening. Sundays are for phone calls home. Time to talk about midterms and dorm food; to tease his sister a bit and catch us up on his life away from home. It’s the only time each week I hear his voice now. It’s strong and deep. The voice of…

There was a time when I loved the mall. Really loved it. The problem is, this particular time in my life was about thirty years ago. The mall has changed. My daughter needed a few things last weekend: a pair of jeans, a birthday present for a friend, and a pair of shoes. Simple enough,…

It was a dark and stormy night, Valentine’s Day two years ago. My teenage son was in bed recovering from having his wisdom teeth pulled; hubs and our daughter were out of town for a weekend ski trip. Was it the stormy weather? The lonely, quiet house? Possibly the large glass of red wine? I…

I was sure they had made a mistake. That letterhead was so familiar; the school logo prominent on the front of the envelope. Why would the high school would be sending my son a letter now, over six months after he graduated? Had he forgotten to return a library book? Left stinky shoes in his…

I think I’m still adjusting to it, to be honest with you. That empty bedroom down the hall. When my son came home from college for Thanksgiving, it was magical. He had only three days to visit, so we crammed in all the laughing, chatting, eating, and hanging out that we could muster in that…

It’s that time of year again. Kindergarten Registration is here. One of the most anxiety-ridden decisions many parents will make. Where to send them, full-day or half, are they even ready? Am I even ready? But by the time you’ve made your decisions and get ready to sign on the dotted line you may as…

I love my collection of red stoneware. Not just a Christmas red, but a deep, rich red that goes along with the greens and golds in my dining room. I love looking at them all year round. But as much as I love my red dishes, bowls, and mugs there is something about them I hadn’t…

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.discoverbeautywithin.com/. The New Year is here. It snuck up on me somewhere between decorating the house for the holidays and forgetting to make any resolutions. Part of the problem with…

The coats litter the playground at the elementary school after morning recess. Beautiful, warm, sometimes brand-new coats discarded by busy little bodies who are running and playing so hard that they are no longer cold. Maybe they argued with mom that morning about needing a coat at all, since we live in a moderate climate….

‘Twas ten days after Christmas, and all through my pad… There were no cookies, no fruitcake, no fudge to be had. The daughter had been wrestled from snug in her bed… And returned to her classroom; what each teacher dreads. With hubs in his sweatshirt, and I in my slippers… We drank lots of coffee,…

Apparently 2011 ends tomorrow. What a year it was around here! Since the year-end-wrap-up seems to be the hot ticket in Bloggyland, I thought I would follow along. I’m easily persuaded by peer pressure. And shiny things. I’ve picked my favorite posts from each month in 2011. So if you’re new around these parts, you…