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…
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…
Who else loves the holiday season?I’m a big fan. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that I discovered only after getting married and I never got to celebrate Christmas as a kid, since I grew up in a Muslim household. Even before we became parents, my husband and I made a big deal of the holidays.We…
I have just finished reading The Paper Bag Christmas. With each chapter, my heart swelled up until it finally burst open and I lay sobbing in my bed. A Christmas miracle had jumped from the pages into my heart. I sensed my true essence. I wanted to bottle it up for safe keeping. I wanted to…
Life is good!
Imagine how thinking and saying those words might impact your life. How you might act differently, carry yourself, interact with your world and the people in it. How you might feel…
It’s been two years. I actually don’t remember many of the details now. I dropped him off and waited for the hospital to call me. When they did, about nine hours later, they informed me that the total colectomy procedure had gone well. When I saw my husband in the recovery ward, he was enjoying…
This essay was written a few days after I wrote the previous one I published. It explains the why of it and how I was able to change my frame of mind. It must first be understood how I came to feel the way I felt in the dark hours of that hot summer morning.…
What makes a good life? Is it having food every day? Is it a roof over our head? Is it money in the bank account? How much? Is it health? Having two legs to walk on and two hands to touch with? Is it Love? Motherly love? Romantic love? How many people can check every…