Letters to a Daughter
-
The Great Love Stories and the Long Lived Relationships
Dear Kids, There’s something that you need to understand about the great love stories that you read about and that you hear about and that you see in the movies. They’re wishful and wistful bits of imagination crafted by people… Continue reading
-
Stay Afloat Mama, Learn to Swim, Teach Others.
Dear Daughter, When I was a first time mom I struggled. Badly. That was with your oldest brother. Then another brother came between. With you, I found out that I was having a daughter and I wanted to write about… Continue reading
-
What Can I Find in the Moment That Sleep Didn’t Come?
“What am I looking for in this moment, my daughter in my arms?” Yes. Sometimes the answer is “sleep”. Just sleep. I want to be alone in the quiet. To do the things that I need to do before she… Continue reading
-
Grow Like A Garden (Even Crushed by a Tree)
Dear Kids, The year is 2013. The year that a gigantic horking tree crushed the garden that we had been tending to lovingly since spring. It was a huge tree. And it fell perfectly over the garden as though it… Continue reading
-
Accepting the Soft Skin of my Belly That Used to Be Your Home
Dear Babygirl, You like to roll the soft skin of my belly between your fingers as you gaze up at me and crinkle your blue eyes with happiness. When your daddy touches my belly I tend to push his hands… Continue reading
-
Being a Powerful Parent and Raising You With Empathy
Dear Daughter, I hold you close. Lithe little toddler body squirming against me as you try and settle. Small human child. One day you will be big and tall and strong. A grown woman, not the little girl I hold… Continue reading
-
You are Getting Warmer… Nope! Cold! Freezing Cold! (The Game of “Finding What Helps Your Child Sleep Independently)
Dear Miss Squidget, A reader of Nurshable recently reminded me of another bit of maternal wisdom that I wish to pass on to you. Getting babies to sleep is like playing the children’s game of “Hot or Cold” with an… Continue reading
-
Sleep Baby, Sleep. (Coping with Teething and Regression)
Dear Daughter, Tired in the night, upset bubbles up. Sleep, baby sleep. Please? I’m so tired. Your teeth are pushing through, making you miserable. Tylenol soothes the pain but cannot relieve the stinging itchiness as they emerge. You kick your… Continue reading
-
The Last Few Moments to Savor (Snuggling a Toddler to Sleep)
She hums, eyes closed and rapidly nursing, a fiddly hand tugging at the heart charm on my necklace for a moment before switching to stroking the skin over my collarbone and then kneading slowly at my breast like a kitten. Her… Continue reading
-
The Beauty of Ordinary Mornings and Dirt-Covered Princesses
Dear Daughter, You are thirteen months old. The dark curls that you were born with have given way to shoulder-length hair that is almost blonde and that waves instead of curling. Your slate blue eyes have brightened in this second… Continue reading
Nurshable 