Roll with it, baby (thank you, Steve Winwood)

Mother’s Day isn’t my favorite. But this weekend I made real progress, meaning I smiled a whole lot more and teared up a whole lot less.

I was also proud of how we as Walden Walnuts rolled with the punches, because many moments that we had planned to go a certain way, well, they didn’t.

Not apologizing for the pretzel in the front seat

Now I can find the humor and fleeting sweetness in the messy moments of life with family. It’s not an indictment on any of us that our house isn’t Pottery Barn catalog clean, or that any of the things described herein are in stark contrast from the way family life is “supposed to be.”

A cutting flower garden for The Divine Miss E

We lost Miss E one year to the day on April 28th. As I plant and water and weed and hope and rush out back each day to check the cutting garden’s progress, my heart will be with her. 

Owning what I’m not good at – and doing more of what I am!

I want to be the person who sends the cards. Alas, I’m the person who buys the cards, always with someone specific in mind, and then they go in the Pile of Good Intentions on my desk, until I move that stack to another stack (for the sake of organization, obvi and because the occasional…

Holy Saturday scenes from the Walmart Neighborhood Market

I’ve stopped beating myself up for the sins that my humanness can’t prevent me from doing. I do my best to be self-aware of them, and to ask for forgiveness when I oughtta, but I have stopped living in the shame spiral that characterized much of my first 40 some odd years.

We’re all a mess (and God is a genius)

Yep, this is a lot heavier spiritually than I normally write, and I’m nervous about it. But it’s on my heart today, so Imma gonna go with it. Hope you enjoy the read.

Jen’s Chicken Spiedini

Discovered this after a sweet friend drove to my house all the way from Prosper just to make me a home-cooked meal during the height of breast cancer treatment.