Loneliness
My first fall and winter in Vermont were heavy with dark, gray loneliness. We had left a full life and rich community in Tennessee and...
October
When I found out I was pregnant with my first and second children, we quickly told friends and family our exciting news. When we found...
Perspective
When I was in college I liked a boy who like a friend of mine. It felt catastrophic. I was convinced that my friend would marry this...
Relational Repairs
I have a confession. Once I yelled at my sister. I probably have yelled at her many times, over the course of growing up together, but...
Expectations
When I was younger I had a lot of ideas about what it would be like to be a grown up. I imagined what marriage would be like, what my...
Pay Attention
Last summer my middle daughter got a tiny little cut on her heel while she was playing outside. It was more of a prick than a cut, and...
Too Much
A long time ago, in a state far away, I was a young graduate student learning to be a therapist. I knew a lot of therapists, and I had...
First Day of First Grade
Dear Lena, On Wednesday you will get on the bus and head toward your first day of first grade. You’ve been on the bus before and you’ve...
For the Toolbox
The last week and a half or so haven’t been all that great. It hasn’t been terrible, and there have been some really good moments. But...
The Good Struggle
I am one of those parents who really, really hates to hear their babies cry. It triggers some sort of physical alarm in me, and I feel...
