Four days at home: family, food, fun. Comfort. Happiness. Satisfaction. Oh how I needed this. Tweet
Read More in home, Jen Writes, NaBloPoMoNovember 25, 2012
Back to real life (not a haiku)
November 23, 2012
Too tired
Once again it is naptime, and the house is quiet. One kid playing outside, the other sipping tea in the other room. Me in my unmade bed, amidst my messy room, with the laptop propped up. I want to want to write. But I’m so very tired. I need a nap, too. Thanksgiving was yesterday. Two of the kids woke up last night. I was awake for hours between 2 and normal wake-up time. Go go go. I could read. Clean. Organize. Make my house a cozier place. I could cook, sort, make a list. I could plan. I could [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, three kidsNovember 20, 2012
this just makes me feel good
“On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons If you love somebody Better tell them while they’re here ’cause They just may run away from you You’ll never know what went well Then again it just depends on How long of time is left for you I’ve had the highest mountains I’ve had the deepest rivers You can have it all but life keeps moving Now take it in but don’t look down ‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay I’m on top of the world, ‘ay Waiting on this for a while now Paying my dues to the [...]
Read More in NaBloPoMo, Sarah Writes, three kidsNovember 18, 2012
riding the escalator
I don’t know what I’m doing In motherhood, wifehood, other I ride up and down and hip hop from one scale to the next Nothing gives me answers I’ve even come to forget the questions Not unlike my teens and 20s, I feel all I do is ride Which way I go is irrelevant I’ll eventually end up at the other end I should let go of expectations Not worry so much Ease up, lay back, enjoy the ride After all, it’s too short no matter how long it [...]
Read More in NaBloPoMo, Sarah Writes, Sarah's FavoritesNovember 17, 2012
Found in a makeshift fort
You better believe my ears are tuned in for the ol’ “bih bih.” This mama is not a-gonna be spied upon. Tweet
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, oldest childNovember 15, 2012
Tradejya
You may have noticed that Sarah and I have been taking turns this NaBloPoMonth. She took odd days. I took evens. This evening’s post is not so much about the writing. Instead, I use this space (and my obligation to fill it) to offer you a public service announcement: effective now, we’re switching. I’m the oddball from here on out. Sarah’s taking the even keel. The reason for this will become clearer on Monday. Thanks, all! (Phew. Another post fulfilled. This month is really kicking our butts!) Tweet
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMoNovember 14, 2012
Work is life is work
On Wednesdays I work from home. After the kids go off to school I sit, today at my dining room table because my desk is an utter disaster. I hear the clicks of my fingers on the keyboard. The dishwasher humming in the next room. The sound of a leaf blower perhaps a few streets away. I am editing other people’s stories. Trying to get through as many as I can before a new ping in my inbox, calling my attention elsewhere. The red edits on the manuscripts brighten the dimness of the view of the dark table in front [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, NaBloPoMoNovember 13, 2012
tuning in
I’m stirring the risotto. Stir, stir, add stock, stir. Max appears in the doorway. “Mom, can you teach me how to play the guitar?” “I’ve been meaning to learn myself, buddy. Maybe we can learn together.” “Will GG teach us?” “Sure, yeah.” He strums for a while, singing. Stir, stir, add stock, stir. “Mom, I got so many songs in my head for when I grow up and go on American Idol that I just can’t decide which one. Like Baby, Don’t Let me Go and Snow Is Falling. Just so many. So, so many…” Stir, stir, clutch my heart, [...]
Read More in middle child, NaBloPoMo, Sarah WritesNovember 12, 2012
Hey
I stepped out of the house for just a few minutes, my phone plugged in to charge. I missed your call. “Hey.” You say, through the speaker held up to my ear. One syllable, vowel sound drawn out just a touch. The familiar, quiet lilt in tone. The rich slowness of your vocal chords. A pause. I know a half-grin is lifting the corners of your lips. I hear you. I hear this message. It’s just for me. I hear: Hey. Just calling to connect with you. Hey. You’ll be home from work in a half hour. We’ll be shuffling [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, relationshipNovember 10, 2012
Inspired by beauty, heartbreak, and good clean writing
I just finished reading the book that has made me want to write fiction again. And so instead of writing more here right now, I’m pulling out my long-neglected manuscript. If you’re looking for something to read, I urge you to try this: Tweet
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, writingNovember 6, 2012
To the man in front of me at the polls
Have you never voted before? Or maybe just not in this community? Don’t be embarrassed that you don’t know to give your street address. Don’t be discouraged that you came to the wrong polling place. You came this far. Just go talk to that nice man over there. He’ll help. He’ll give you directions to your designated polling place. It’s not far. Really. Our town is small! You can do it. You can vote. Here’s how it works: Arrive at your polling place (yes, specific to the precinct where you live) Be patient, there might be lines today. (I hope [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMoNovember 4, 2012
Brilliance
If I look up, out of the corner of my right eye I see the sun, streaming in near-horizontal pillars through the plastic-covered window. To my left an orange plastic pumpkin full of Halloween candy, Milk Duds on top. I see a box full to overflowing with items we were going to sell at a tag sale over the summer——outgrown clothes, duplicate books, other miscellany that might be more meaningful to others. I see bins of art materials, so very many pairs of shoes. I see an unfinished Lego project, donut crumbs on an alphabet placemat, the surface of our [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, three kidsNovember 3, 2012
lucky
I sat down to write. And then I looked up. There is a white board above my desk. On it was a message, this message: I don’t know if I’m supposed to be the clover or if he is. Either way, this is fact. We are lucky clovers. Tweet
Read More in NaBloPoMo, Sarah WritesNovember 2, 2012
At the laundromat
Our dryer is broken. For a long time it’s been dying a long, slow death, requiring periodic and dedicated lint clean-out of the vent as well as much patience (two or three dryer cycles per washer load). We’ve managed so far. We use the clothesline five or six months of the year. And when it’s icy outside, I drape kid-sized pants and shirts over a drying rack in the bathroom, hang bigger items on hangers over the shower rod. And, until now, I reserved the limping dryer for the towels and sheets. And the underwear and socks. The many, many [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, NaBloPoMo, sisters, three kidsNovember 1, 2012
conclusions
I had a spat with my husband two mornings ago. He was dissatisfied with my response to a work matter he was recounting. I found myself sitting in the middle of the spat absolutely irritated by his reaction to my reaction and yet logically concluding that I ought to be grateful. He cares what I think about the man that he chooses to be when he is not with me. Cool. I have also concluded that no matter how many inches I lose off my hips and my butt and my thighs, my middle will still sag and bubble over [...]
Read More in NaBloPoMo, Sarah Writes