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Love Letters
My mother loved tea pots. Lined up across the top of her kitchen cabinets were probably fifteen of them. No – more. I don’t remember. But there were a lot. Various sizes and shapes and colors. And I know they all had a story. But I wasn’t paying enough attention back then. (And for that, I will always be sorry.)…
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I Like. A List
I like . . . . . . Saturdays spent with friends at an apple orchard. Evenings when kids are so exhausted they head to bed an hour earlier than usual and then they fall right asleep and I am left in a quiet home with my oldest daughter at work and my husband on a business trip, leftover fudge…
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Autumn Crisp
The hope of cooler weather. Nights on the porch with a sweatshirt on. Glorious afternoon sun whose warmth feels like an invitation. Hello Autumn. So good to see you. Yellow flowers gathered by the armloads from the field out front. Warm glow of a campfire. Snuggling under the covers in the early a.m. with a couple of sweet intruders. Apple…
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Wildwood: Creative Narration
I don’t give my children tests. Well, at least not my elementary student children. They don’t receive a multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank piece of paper when they complete a chapter about Columbus or learn about narwhals in their science book. (They don’t ever really use textbooks either, but that’s another story.) As an advocate of a Charlotte…
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three is a funny number. and age. more a funny age than number really. three is funny.
You might remember that I think my little Willow is a funny little person. She still is. But lately my boy Otto Fox is giving her a run for her money. (Which leads me to think, maybe it’s not so much the kid as the age. Three is just plain old amusing.) As I tuck Otto into bed most nights…
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Keigley CAMPaign: Hamilton Branch
After we came up with the idea back in May, our first camping trip was to the lovely Lake Jocassee. (Seriously picturesque mountain views on this lake. Truly crowded camping experience because those views are so lovely.) Somehow Bergen received the luck of the draw and was allowed to choose our next camping destination. You know he loves birds so…
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Keigley CAMPaign: Oconee State Park
Last weekend was our camping weekend. Oconee State Park. It was a good weekend. And I plan to go backwards in time and recap each state park visit. Eventually. But I jotted down this during our weekend as we were hanging out and enjoying the incredibly perfect weather. ________________ 8:17 p.m. Otto is resting in the hammock. Riley’s reading by…
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and did you know this?
Guess what? You can get almost all of your children in a cool location. You can have them dressed in Mommy-approved-photo-attire. You can have enough time and patience and presence of mind to attempt a stylish photograph. And you can still blow it.
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My Friend T.S.
Thrift stores have really become my friends. (Can a store be one’s friend? I guess if I declare a store to be my friend, then a store is indeed my friend. End of discussion.) As I was saying, thrift stores are my friends. I mean, this story isn’t as impressive as the Frye Boot Discovery of 2012. I don’t actually…
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No kidding!
Maybe it’s the lack of sleep. Or school being in session here at Wildwood. Or just everything. But I think my boy Hawkeye said it perfectly. I was waking him up one morning recently. He was stretching, fighting the idea of the day’s beginning. He yawned. Rolled over. Pulled the blanket over his head. Pulled it back off. Looked at…
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Sleep deprivation looks like this
I’ve been trying to tame my ways this school year. I’m getting up early. I don’t love the sound of my alarm and I don’t love the noise five roosters make (I don’t think they actually understand the definition of the word dawn.) and I don’t love getting out of my cozy bed. But I do love claiming the quiet…
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a crib. re-born.
Otto is three. He was a baby. Now he’s not. Last week he graduated from the crib in which he had been sleeping his entire young life to an official “big boy” bed. (Generously given to him by our friends. Thanks Sunshine!) (I mean, he’s giving out interviews left and right these days. I guess he deserves a bed for…
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The Interview Hath Returneth
It has been too long. And I’m not certain if I’ve ever even really tried this stunt with my Wilde Fox of a son. But I used to do a handful of these simple little interviews with my kids. Mainly because it cracked me up so. And since it’s been so long – tonight I’m interviewing my last little man…
