It seems that many of you single mothers have landmarks in September. Blame the Solstice. I offer you today a haunting song by David Sylvian on the subject of September…
…and thank Samantha for pointing out this Beautiful Flowers heartwrench by India Aire…
Her prose is poetry, her thoughts meander with purpose and whimsy like a small brook. And if you need to be transported, please read her musings on whether women walk away… from passion, from a fight, from each other.
This post made me realize, I have spent my time post-marriage running towards the ideas of passion, and fighting for what I believe in, and being there for my women friends…
but sometimes? When I get there? It’s a mirage, an illusion, and i feel the passion, the fire, the bond slip through my fingers, leaving me bereft of a dream, again. I …read more
So, single mothers, which relationship are you in? May you find your turtle, and leave the brontosaurus behind.
As a single parent, I find myself with everything to do and no time to do it, and no one to turn to for help when it’s bedtime or breakfast and everyone is in a hurry and there’s a panic to get it DONE. It can leave us feeling harried and out of sorts, grumpy and out of touch. So…
Next time your kid says something to you, stop what you’re doing and listen. Really listen.
When you are next faced with a choice between getting down on the floor and playing with your kid or doing the dishes? Get down. Dishes …read more
First off, if you don’t read Susan Palwick’s Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good, you’re in for a treat. Susan’s not your ordinary, Bible-thumping Christian. In fact, she finds God in the most unlikely of places — stuffed animals, rocks, and the occasionally deranged patient passing through the OR where she is a volunteer chaplain. She’s also a teacher, an author, a wife, and a recently bereaved daughter. Her father passed away quite recently, and we’re no longer permitted the ‘luxury’ of mourning the loss of a loved one for a year, or however long it takes to find a place …read more
I’m actually north of London right now, going closer to midnight than dinnertime, pondering the extraordinary opportunity this spur-of-the-moment trip has given me to reassess who I am, what I love, and why I do what I do.
Before I utterly crash and burn, I wanted to say I’ve been thinking about you, single mothers. I know the sacrifices we make for our families, the dreams we put aside to put bread on the table, but this weekend has been filled with folks who chose to follow their dreams and they were successful in doing so.
Take care of yourself, as well …read more
This is definitely not the economy to quit your day job. Certainly not the economy in which to drop everything and become an artist. So I do my job — which has nothing to do with what I love, and everything to do with my own area of competency. And I dream of the day when I might turn what I love into what I do.
I was given an extraordinary gift this Valentine’s Day: pottery classes at a local studio. It’s relatively near my house and easy to get to after work. I go on Friday evenings and I am …read more
I’ve been cleaning up files tonight, wading through the detritus of the destruction of my marriage, and came across this oneiric essay I wrote two and some odd years ago, when I lived in Dubai with my husband and our small son.
I thought I would share it with you…
My life in the UAE has very little in common with the life my husband leads.
I navigate the nuances of mothers, of women of a myriad of colours, from darkest litchi nut to palest ivory; from women who show shoulders and cleavage to women who leave only their eyes exposed to …read more
The ham was perfection, the sweet potatoes velvet in their jackets. The Kid cleaned up and so did my father in the gift department. We were honored with a guest this year who exceeded wildest expectations with charm, grace, and wit. We remembered those we have lost, and watched the young glow electric.
My fifth happiness of the season is my family. My son, of course, and my mother and father. My cousins near and far, my aunts and uncles, too. The single parents who call me friend, and the single father who takes the time to teach my son …read more
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