I grew up worshipping my mom. I loved her handwriting, her nurturing voice, her enthusiastic responses to tiny victories in my life. When I succeeded in the pool, no one was more excited than my mom. She used to come into my room in the mornings and wake me up by rubbing my back and …
I’d like to take a survey to see how many first impressions are correct. And what my first impression is…not sure I want to know. One of my former teammates was quite honest and told me I didn’t sit well with her the first time she met me. I was over-the-top, Texas-big-hair nice. “Hiiiiii, I’m …
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” Jimmy Dugan aka Tom Hanks said that in “A League of Their Own”. It’s been one of my motivational mantras since my high school swimming days, but gosh, it applies to more than sports. As …
My sister-in-law gifted me the beautiful (aesthetically and prose-wise) book “GraceLaced” by Ruth Chou Simons for my birthday. Ruth is a mama to six boys, the youngest of whom is 3. She is a talented watercolor artist and writer. And she’s a mom to – I’ll say it again – SIX BOYS. As I leaf …
I turned 31 yesterday. I didn’t weep or ponder my wrinkles or dwell on the fact that I’m a decade over 21 and no longer get carded (though I have complained about that lately). What does this 31-year-old have to grumble about?! I have a happy, healthy toddler, a caring, hunky husband, two families (the …
What do you get when you combine two of my childhood nicknames: Tootsie and Bird? One evening, as the Chandler family gathered around the dinner table, my dad combined them. “What do you think about that, Turd?” The whole family died laughing. My father had called his only daughter, the 9-year-old princess, a turd. And …
How many micro conversations do we have in a week? Not every chat can be epic and deep and cathartic, but how often are our conversations the complete opposite? Short, shallow and suppressive. There are definitely people who have more of a need to express themselves through words (sup. That’s me.), and those who process …
I cannot write while simultaneously making sure Skylar doesn’t stick her finger into an electrical outlet. However, I can listen to podcasts and keep Skylar alive at the same time. I’ve listened to everything from TED talks to the “Love and Relationships” podcast to various mom podcasts. I like efficiency. I like quality. In the midst of some mundane …
I started this sometime in July (Sky was 8 months): We lowered Skylar’s crib today. There are three levels. We started our girl on level one and Matt was wanting to skip down to level three today. I instantly said, “No way!” Not because it wouldn’t make sense to move it all the way down and not …
Carley was intimidating on paper. She was part of the studly class of swimmers I came in with at the University of Arizona. I thoroughly stalked each of my fellow incoming freshman. I remember my dad getting in on the excitement– “This girl from Colorado is top 16 in every event!” Top 16 in the …