-
She Learned to Work Before the World Called It Work
Rae learned to work before the world called it work. At twelve, she cleaned my brother’s shop office for real money, real expectations, and a little freedom of her own. I am proud of the confidence work gave her. I also grieve that money had to matter so young.
-
What the Calendar Couldn’t Hold
June was full of appointments, reschedules, travel, surgery recovery, and work. I needed the calendar, the reminders, and the map. But the best parts of the month happened in the margins: porch conversations, toddler hugs, family dinners, chalk on the sidewalk, and ordinary beauty I almost missed.
-
I Am the Calendar, the Case Manager, and the Backup Plan
Caregiving is not just loving people. It is logistics, memory, paperwork, appointments, refills, therapies, bills, and backup plans. I am grateful I can carry the map for my family, but I am also tired from doing it inside a body that needs care too.
-
My Kids Think School Is Out. I Know Better.
School may be out for the summer, but learning has not stopped. In our house, summer learning looks like audiobooks, gardening, chores, paid work, boredom, conflict resolution, and all the practical life skills that do not fit neatly on a worksheet.
-
Our Container Garden Became a Mystery Garden
Our container garden started with salvaged pots, scattered seed packets, and a toddler who thought organization was optional. Now it is teaching us patience, food skills, homeschool science, and how to practice for the future before we have the land.
-
When There’s No Cushion Left
When you live with no cushion left, one small problem never stays small. A power outage, a broken washer, a missed deposit, and an empty tank can turn an ordinary day into something much heavier.
-
Kids Do Well When They Can: Understanding Overwhelm Instead of Calling It Defiance
My daughter had reached her limit long before I realized it. In the truck after a long day, her tone sharpened, her words came out rude, and I felt that familiar mix of frustration and helplessness. In the moment, it looked like bad behavior. What I could not see yet was that she wasn’t being…
-
Parenting Through Presence, Not Perfection: What My Kids Taught Me About Co-Regulation
There were mornings I could feel myself going offline. Not dramatic. Just done. My patience thin, my nerves shot, my thoughts moving faster than I could hold them. Sometimes I would sit on the bathroom floor just to breathe and let the moment pass. And quietly, my kids would follow. They wouldn’t ask for anything.…
-
She Didn’t Sleep Through the Night for the First Three Years
My daughter didn’t sleep through the night for the first three years of her life. Not once. She needed presence, pressure, and movement to settle. There was no diagnosis yet, no language for what we were navigating, only the quiet knowing that her body did not rest the way other babies’ bodies seemed to. I…
-
Lessons from Wonderland: What Alice Still Teaches Me About Life, Parenting, and Growing Up
During a fall evening photo shoot turned Wonderland adventure, I realized how much Alice still has to teach us. Through curiosity, slowing down, difference, imagination, and growth, I found reflections of motherhood, healing, and becoming — lessons tucked inside the golden light of an ordinary day.
-
🌿 Life Is About Experiencing Moments
There was a time I thought life was measured in milestones like graduations, promotions, birthdays, and the next big thing on the calendar. Then one day I woke up sick and never got well. Chronic illness has a way of stripping life down to its bones. It slows everything until you can’t help but notice…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Midwest Mimi 