Month: April 2023

April 2023

April Honoring

April 21, 2023 / NEXT: An Empowerment Series

Oh April! The month of smiling daffodils and terrific tulips, of fuchsia redbuds and lavender lilacs. The month my neighborhood walks return so I see snowy white dogwood blossoms and showy pink magnolia blooms. Above all in April, I celebrate the wonderful women born in this first full month of spring. The list is too long to name them all. Five coworkers I adore. Multiple amazing friends like Mary, Mo, and Melodee, the latter my 40 year plus bestie. Most specially, I celebrate Mom. Though my mother’s life seemed destined to deliver her hardship and heartbreak, it’s an ongoing inspiration

Parenting Plans

April 20, 2023 / Doing Divorce

Both of us baby-faced and needing frequent naps, I could have spent the rest of my days with her head tucked safely under my chin and her little sixteen-pound body warming my heart. At six months into her life, I was finally getting the hang of things and not congratulating myself nightly that she was still breathing. I was now accustomed to the permanent expansion of my heart. Little did I know then that in seven short years, her father and I would be working through a divorce and my plans for parenting with him would be barely recognizable by the

Casserole Care

April 13, 2023 / Doing Divorce

I thought it was heat rash when the red prickly, itchy bumps appeared. Then the pain set in and my instincts told me otherwise. The doctor took one look and resolutely said, “Shingles.” “Adult chicken pox?” I asked. “At your age the only explanation is that it is stress induced,” he looked at me with what felt like a smidge of silent judgment. I was on Google as soon as I walked in the door to discern how long this bout would last, my mind already racing to the commitments I had the following work week and how was I

Bunny Rabbits and Rituals

April 7, 2023 / NEXT: An Empowerment Series

We caught the number 3 bus to downtown. Perhaps my little sister was with us, but my memory’s eye sees only Mom and me. It was our annual trip for something special for Easter Sunday. I can’t recall any dress purchases. The buy was more likely to be a white brimmed bonnet with an elastic band fitting tight under my chin. Or perhaps one that formed an arch over my head with rows of stiff white lace and small spikes of plastic to keep it in place. With seven siblings, a day like this was surely special. Preparing for the