Category: Family
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at Home on the Farm
Taking a weekend road trip with children is like telling a lie – the more often you do it, the easier it becomes (or so I’ve been told). Anticipating 18 hours on the road over the course of four days can induce anxiety. But in the midst of the deed, it doesn’t feel so bad.…
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When honesty eclipses repentance
Every day a blog or article pops up in my newsfeed touting the 10 Things Parent’s Won’t Tell You or 10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Having Children or something else along those lines. Someone confesses how challenging their life is, particularly compared to what it used to be, could be, or “should” be. Comments…
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Tangier is an island – Tangier, Virginia
It happens all the time. Someone is wearing a T-shirt from a distant destination and I enthusiastically ask if they’ve been there. Sometimes I’ve been to the T-shirt worthy locale, so it’s a fun conversation starter – or non-starter. Case in point, after a dip in the pool a friend recently wrapped up in a…
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Snapshot of Serenity
Sitting on my back porch, enjoying an unusually cool morning, I look down at the pool of urine around my ankles. No, postpartum incontinence hasn’t gotten the better of me. My almost-three-year-old decided she’d rather stay snuggled on my lap than take the long, four meter trek to the bathroom. She was soaked, my legs…
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Motherhood, Oatmeal and Delaying Gratification
I’m convinced the essence of motherhood is delayed gratification. Or, more realistically, the hope that our hard work and dying to self will yield positive results in our children. This dying-to-self business is a challenge. In my dream world, my children sleep until 9am (and go to bed at 7pm). I wake up, run, shower, read and…
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On Food
God could have created iceberg lettuce and called it good. Instead he created romaine lettuce, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, field greens, mustard greens and spinach – and called it all good. God is the creative mastermind behind all culinary masterpieces. He created the ingredients – the oils, spices, nuts, meats, fruits and vegetables –…
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Turmoil in South Sudan – Interview with American family who calls South Sudan home
On Christmas Day you probably were not thinking about South Sudan. At least not very much. I wasn’t. But, if you are the Faders, you were. They left their home and relationships in South Sudan for a Christmas holiday, not knowing their return would be tenuous. A year ago the Faders were featured on willtravelwithkids,…
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The Ill-Fated Feast – Mom’s perspective
As I recalled the account of a fateful holiday meal, posted yesterday on Communicating Across Boundaries, I asked my mom to recount the event from her perspective: That Thanksgiving is a bit of a blurr. Of course, I wanted it to be perfect. Dad had gone to Malawi, by train, to get our beloved students.…
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The ill-fated holiday feast
Today I have the privilege of writing a guest post for Communicating Across Boundaries. Marilyn Gardner of CAB is a passionate writer who covers a wide range of topics. I appreciate her perspectives on culture and Third Culture Kid (TCK) issues. She spent formative years in Pakistan and has traveled extensively, with a keen eye…
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When Fear is Your Currency [aka ‘Is it Safe?’]
I always appreciate Marilyn Gardner’s perspective on issues. She blogs frequently at Communicating.Across.Boundaries. Today she posted about the concept of safety when traveling or living not only abroad, but even at home. How often I’ve been asked “But is it safe?” when I tell people where I’ve been or where we plan to go with…
will travel with kids 