Full. Real. Unfinished.

For 18 years they consume every thought. Everything you do is for their good, every decision made with them in mind. It's like nothing you've done before. This requires all the energy of your heart, mind and soul. So much of the process goes unseen, thousands of private moments where you made the decision to BUILD. Wanting (more than anything) for those wings to grow strong and resilient, feather by feather you stand and witness as it takes place. So many of those feathers are constructed of confidence imbued by YOU. Then it happens. Just as you've envisioned for nearly two decades, they step to the edge of the nest with those big powerful wings, and they go. Excited, hopeful, happy. The world is all theirs. You realize then that although they are your world, you are not THEIR world. For a minute, pain washes over your heart and you hope you're not really as alone as you feel. Their world looks completely different than yours. This is the beginning to them, ...

“I don’t know how you do it.”  I hear this statement (question?) from women all the time.   What I hear them asking is, “how do you live with so much peace and calm and joy?”  ( while a full-time homeschool mom to five kids, wife of an ambitious entrepreneur, working as a nurse and youth leader and all the other things ).   “How do you find time for yourself?” After thinking about this question for years on end, I have finally got an answer.  The answer to how I take care of myself as a woman is easy:  I meditate and pray.  I assign my youngest out to the care of others so that I can exercise alone.  I pursue topics that fascinate me.  I set goals for myself and enjoy the challenge of achieving them.  I think back to what I did for fun when I was single, and I DO IT! But there is a real problem here : that answer doesn’t solve the dilemma for anybody.   Women, both with and without children, are still perplexed (and sometimes...