I know, I know, Five for Ten is officially over, done, vamoose! However, Jen and I really wanted to acknowledge a post from each category that deeply moved us. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get my writing wheels back, but for now, go check out these fine writers and the posts that knocked our socks off. Courage: Whereever Launa Goes–Bon Courage Happiness: Being Rudri–The Pendulum Memory: Two Job Mama–Only the Good Parts. Mostly. Lust: The Miller Mix–Three Lovers Yes: Eva Evolving–Inching Toward Yes
Read More in Sarah WritesJune 2, 2010
Five for Ten: Outstanding Contributions
May 19, 2010
YES to YOU
YES to new friends. Connections and Voices YES to letting go and reaching out and diving in YES to pushing and stretching and finding your words and sharing them here with us I am in awe. I am absolutely amazed. I am dancing in my tragically unhip shoes over here, starting to get back a little bit of that spanky and delicious, and all because of you. YES, you. Out there. The ones who have come here to read and write for 10 days. How did you do it? Aren’t you tired? A little tired of Momalom? A little tired [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsMay 18, 2010
A day of Yes
Yes I’ll make cinnamon-chip muffins Yes we have Daddy juice Yes you can wear shorts today Yes there are clean socks in the laundry basket in my room Yes you have PE today (so wear your sneakers, too) Yes I’ll pack yogurt in your lunch Yes I’ll pack a granola bar in your snack Yes it’s my turn to drive you to school today Yes you have to brush your teeth Yes I’m picking you up from school, too Yes your friend M can come over to play Yes I’ll make popcorn Yes you can jump on the (neighbor’s) trampoline [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, motherhood, oldest child, three kidsMay 17, 2010
Lust for Lust
I have it. Oh, how I have it. Lust for lust. The want…to want. I’m not talking about lust for a quiet home, an easy dinner, a book, a bath, a pedicure. I’m talking about pure, hot, pounding lust. The fire that starts in your chest, quickens your breath, and moves to your thighs–making every limb tingle, bringing every cell to life. I want that. I want it back. If I squint really hard I can see through the haze of these cluttered, chaotic days. An image of this girl in a bikini pops up. I know she’s not a [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, sexMy favorite novel My cherished collection (one-and-two-thirds shelves of Stegner magic) Evidence of stalking (I told you it was lust) ****************
Read More in Jen Writes, three kidsMay 15, 2010
Accepting Memory
I am standing in the shower. A mosaic of pea green tile under my feet. The sun of a hot, Florida day streaming in through the glass-blocked window beside me. Water streams down upon a body I have worked hard to win back after birthing my first child. In a matter of minutes I am flooded with memories I would rather forget. Guilt, shame, and loss swell my heart and the bucket tips over. Tears pour from me nearly as fast as the water from the showerhead. I push back at the memories. I want to grab them with both [...]
Read More in Sarah WritesMay 14, 2010
I had this body
I had this body I had abs A navel pierced with a tiny silver ring I had an ass that didn’t move up and down when I ran (I had this body that ran) I had a waist that fit into skinny jeans and thighs that fit, too I had this body before I had children this body that has slipped away become something else after the third child or because I’m getting older I can’t say, really But I had this body and I wish I had appreciated it more when it was mine (mine alone) Because now it [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, mind/body, motherhood, three kidsMay 13, 2010
The !!! of My Life
I have written and rewritten my About page several times. For many months now it has stood mostly blank. I find it to be an incredibly difficult and daunting task. And this is just a blog. Not the dust jacket on a new novel. Not a bio in a magazine. Not a profile for Match.com. Just a blog. The irony of it all is that I am able to share intensely personal things in my posts, but when it comes to my About page, I clam up. I can’t figure out how to distill myself into one or two cute [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsMay 12, 2010
Happiness is
Happiness is three slippery bodies just out of the tub holding out their towels and asking for a “Daddy warm-up” Happiness is my Sweetie’s eyes deep brown and kind always smiling with soft lines around them like the Lucinda Williams song Happiness is this family that is ours only ours always ours because we took the leap that led us here ***************** Wednesday and Thursday are all about Happiness. Sarah and I are so happy to have you along on this amazing adventure. Link away…and we’ll get busy reading.
Read More in Jen Writes, motherhood, relationship, three kidsMay 11, 2010
Courage is
Courage is taking a leap into love commitment Motherhood Courage is forgiving freely and forgetting moving forward Courage is starting each day fresh without the weight of yesterday’s failures or hurdles or burdens Courage is being the best woman I can be the best partner I can be the best Mother I can be and not apologizing for not being better ******* Are you new here? Do you need some more information about all these goings-on? Check out the sidebar. Everything you need to know is over there! Also, please bear with us as we catch up from yesterday on [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, motherhood, three kidsMay 10, 2010
The Sidelines
The sun beats down on me as I sit on the sidelines. The vastness of the bright green playing field is filled in with players wearing blue and white jerseys, three stripes down the side of their shorts and across the tops of their socks. The ball pops here and there, in and out of bounds, over heads, into goals, and through the breeze that pushes tears around my face. I pull my hat further down and shift in the taupe spectator chair. I swirl the ice in my coffee and kick off my shoes. I have shut down. My [...]
Read More in motherhood, oldest child, Sarah Writes, three kidsMay 1, 2010
Five for Ten Again: TOPICS!!!
May 10 & 11 — Courage May 12 & 13 — Happiness May 14 & 15 — Memory May 16 & 17 — Lust May 18 & 19 — Yes The topics are broad. General. You can tweak them however you want. They can be funny, introspective, academic, vulnerable. Whatever you wish. Be creative. Be daring. But most of all, be yourself. Two things of note: The last topic, Yes, is in honor of Aidan Donnelley Rowley’s debut novel, Life After Yes, which hits bookshelves on May 18th. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, right? I’m excited to read it. [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsApril 28, 2010
Five for Ten Again: Rules and Regulations
We’ve been bombarded with enthusiasm (and a few questions) since we announced the return of Five for Ten last week. So let’s go over the details, shall we? Five for Ten will run from Monday, May 10 to Wednesday, May 19 Jen or I will post each day during the 10 days You, dear reader, are asked to visit Momalom each day and leave a comment We, in return, will visit your blog and leave you a comment OK, is it getting clearer? Pretty simple, right? We give you five minutes (well, more like 10 or 15) if you give [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsApril 27, 2010
Dishing out the Five for Ten details
Has anyone noticed the recent influx of baby pictures? Man, I’m wistful for the early days. This is my first little guy, Jamis, back when every moment was cute. We lived in Florida. Life was simple. What the heck happened? And…can I ever get a glimpse of that again? Just for a day? *** We’ll be serving up some details on Five for Ten tomorrow! Please be sure to stop by. Grab the button code from our sidebar while you’re here, and plaster it on your site, in a post, or on your forehead. Whatever suits you. We are excited [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsApril 19, 2010
Five for Ten Again!
Yay! Five for Ten is coming back, baby! And this time, with a spin and a twist and a turn and…you get the point, right? So, are you new to Five for Ten? Well, back in November, 2009, Jen and I had this wild idea to commit to ten days of getting to know our readers a bit better. You can educate yourselves on the logistics of the whole affair here. And you can browse all the Five for Ten posts here. What you are really going to be most interested in–if you choose to browse the posts–is the comments [...]
Read More in Sarah WritesApril 16, 2010
A Lusty Little Biography – Yes
So, I’m going to take a shortcut and combine the last two posts. Because time and again Lust is what has brought me to Yes. Girls: Beware. Your mama is going to tell a few tales here. Might be TMI. So sure, I was a teenager and suffered the usual throes of uncontrolled craving. And sometimes these led me into situations I can’t remember without cringing. Like Tim, the super cool summertime boyfriend, who bought a used police car at a June auction, and discovered a secret button hidden on the driver’s side that could make the car accelerate 0 [...]
Read More in GG Writes, three kidsApril 15, 2010
What We Remember
Talk during a recent dinner with old friends: “So, I was at my high school reunion last year and, when everyone started telling old stories, all I could do was nod and go uh huh, uh huh, ‘cause I didn’t remember a thing.” “Well, I can’t remember my phone number from day to day. Too many numbers in my life.” “Yeah, me either. And how about all the times you run upstairs, only to forget what you’re going for, and have to go all the way back downstairs to remember?” “Or when you forget someone’s name? And they lived next [...]
Read More in GG Writes, three kidsApril 13, 2010
My Happy Brain
I just got off the phone with Sarah, an excited Sarah, who can’t believe the response they are having to the latest iteration of 5 for 10. And I’m excited, too. And happy, so happy. And, I’m still thinking about the courage post, and how brave it is for all of you to tell the truth, to put it out into cyberspace for anyone to read – friend, foe, family or just the faceless, unknown reader. It is a courageous act to say, “What the hell. This is my life. These are my thoughts. This is important to me. And [...]
Read More in GG WritesApril 10, 2010
Courage
I am the eldest of six, raised in a family where a premium was placed on “being a Good Girl.” I learned that lesson well. Fast forward to my twenties. To marriage. To three children. To visits with in-laws so different than my own parents. Small-town and small-minded. So, here sits the Good Girl daughter-in-law at the dinner table in their small, overly decorated ranch house. Biting her tongue for the umpteenth time while the Father-in-Law spouts his hometown political views, views based almost completely on the particular situation of the guy down the street. Not global, not national–entirely local. [...]
Read More in GG Writes