real, raw motherhood
Before I moved to Waimanalo in September 2020, I lived in Kailua for 11 years, minutes from the Kawainui Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, one of our family’s favorite places on Oahu. Since our daughter now attends Kalaheo High in Kailua, I headed to the marsh after school drop-off for an early morning walk. Being active is…
A poem I wrote in honor of Thanksgiving Day.
If all the flowers were roses,If never daisies grew,If no old-fashioned posiesDrank in the morning dew,Then man might have some reasonTo whimper and complain,And speak these words of treason,That all our toil is vain. If all the stars were SaturnsThat twinkle in the night,Of equal size and patterns,And equally as bright,Then men in humble places,With…
As much as I like Christmas, the week that follows also holds a very special place in my heart. It is a time to look ahead and decide what I want to work on, determine who I want to become and design a plan to accomplish as much of it as possible in the upcoming…
Every Christmas, I order a personalized ornament with a photo of our daughter that represents the past year. In the process, I usually take a moment to look at the many wonderful snapshots of our little girl. The curls. The chubby cheeks. The twinkly eyes and dimpled smiles. So adorable. This year, however, the photos…
It’s happened again. December is here. There’s a tree in our living room, garlands in the stairways, rolls of wrapping paper leaning against the wall, and Christmas earrings dangling from my earlobes. December is an interesting month. A hinge of sorts between past and future. Most of us are occupied with preparing for the present Christmas season.…
Regardless of what one believes about its creation, there is no doubt that the universe follows a wondrous order. Stars, orbits, tides, sunrises, sunsets, the way ants and bees work… It is not only awe inspiring, it actually makes sense. Human beings follow milestones of development as well but, as a parent, I can’t say…
Last month, I decided to start writing again and I set a goal to publish weekly as I used to do several years ago. I’ve met the goal four weeks in a row, an encouraging start. It was even easier than anticipated. Inspiration had been close at hand. But today, it doesn’t feel easy. In…
I just heard a man tell a story to illustrate how insecure he was, how much he cared about the opinion of his peers and how that caused him to act contrary to his true self well into his early adulthood. It got me wondering. How do we become ourselves? What makes us, us? Any…
Last night, half asleep, I heard our dog pacing in her crate. Unusual behavior for her. I got up and opened her door. She bolted out and circled around me in a frenzy, making it difficult to slip her collar on and clip her leash. Finally, we hurried down the stairs. As soon as we…