analyzing the ties that bind

Thankful

“I’m assuming you know what’s happening with Mom but just in case you don’t she’s being admitted to the stroke ward at the hospital.” It’s the night before Thanksgiving, here in Thailand, I’m up prepping food for the next day. We’re having new friends over to celebrate with us, because […]

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The Mythical Self

There is a huge amount of conversation on my post at blogher, you may remember it, about my choice to stay with Bam Bam instead of take off for a few days for a birthday party. Among the many other themes in the comments are those women very kindly warning […]

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And the Girl is 8

Hello solstice child, The pagan doula who attended your birth held you for a while waiting for a gift from you, born in the dead of the longest winter’s night. That was sort of odd of her, but I didn’t mind. I think the gift was simply you. Every parent […]

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Homecomings

“We were just thinking about you!” they all exclaimed as I rounded the corner toward the green where we used to spend so much of our time. “I called and left you a message just about 20 minutes ago. We were all outside and saying how much it was just […]

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Traditions

When you are birthing babies some of the books tell you to think of all the other women in the world who are also in labor and to think of yourself as connected to them and working with them as you do the work of circling this baby down and […]

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Making a marriage last

I’m always amused by the people who say that in order to have a good marriage you need to have regular date nights, or get away together a few times a year, or sit down and have talks that analyze your relationship. It amuses me because we’ve never gotten away […]

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Regrets and Questions

She was 19 when she drank a little too much and ended up going home with a guy she would never see again, having sex for the first time and getting pregnant. It was a week before my wedding when she finally realized what was causing her to throw up […]

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On Leaving

When I was a teenager growing up in a small town in Canada my only thought was to escape. I was going to leave this place behind. I was going to go to exciting places, I was going to accomplish interesting and important things and I was going to show […]

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Foot in mouth

Sometimes blogging can be embarrassing. I write stuff, I put it up there, and then I move on and forget about it. A year passes, maybe 2, and someone is reading through my archives and there it is. Like this post here. A Tale of Two Childless People You see, […]

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In Search of Strength

Sometimes it sinks me, how I miss it when it’s right in front of my face. I trade task for person again and again and service goes unseen because it misses the person where they need most. I am 16 again at my grandparents table. Seeing, for the first time, […]

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