When my cousin-in-law asked me to share at my sister-in-law’s baby shower last August, I said “yes”–and then I thought of the fact that my own three daughters would be sitting there in the room listening! They know better than anyone else that I’m not a perfect mother. But they read and gave their blessing…
Last fall, I was asked to share with a local mom’s group about some of my specific goals for my children. I was glad of the opportunity, because it forced me to actually think through and write down some specific ideals. It also brought me face to face with the reality of our humanness–theirs and…
Dearest little Sara Elizabeth, Where does one start with a birth story, little one? He knit you together in my womb many days before I even noticed the first little signs and took that test. The insatiable craving for pickles really should have been indication enough. But it was August 16 when I saw those…
They called me over in the hotel breakfast room. “Excuse me, how old are your children?” she asked. “Five, three and a half, and almost two.” Even my reply sounded tired as I stopped to calculate. “We’ve been watching them and trying to guess,” they explained. “They are so well-behaved!” I didn’t know whether to laugh…
I didn’t expect to be surprised by motherhood. My little sister was born when I was almost 12. My baby brother followed 3 years later. I was an old pro at changing diapers and cooking dinner with a baby on my hip by the time the baby I was juggling was my own. I knew…
I think every woman should schedule a photoshoot once in a while. It’s too easy for us to believe the lies we tell ourselves about how we look. We take for granted that others are as critical as we are when we look in the mirror. We’ve forgotten how to see ourselves through the mirror…
The Mommy Cup is a children’s book with a message that’s just as much for mommies as for their little ones. Heather Ruskievicz combines soft color illustrations that children will love with a simple story line that will speak right to a mother’s heart. The story introduces us to a mommy named Maria who lives in…
She’s there behind me, every time I look in the mirror. Comparing her reflection to mine. She shakes her head, that one with the perfect complexion. That size 0 waist mocks me. I hear her disapproving voice inside my head every time I try to pull on a pair of jeans. The ones that won’t…
I am Javert. I see everything black and white. Justice, all must be fair. Yet, I am Eponine. Dirty and rotten. Ever failing. So desperately in need of mercy. Then there are my little Cosettes looking up at me. Innocent in so many ways yet already in need of grace. And I feel the struggle…
Sometimes I stare in the mirror on Sunday mornings and wonder why I bother. Why put on the makeup, why wear the cute skirt? Because when we see each other Sunday morning, our children bouncing up to us, the makeup covering the tired bags under our eyes–that’s not real relationship. We exchange hellos and compliment…
Mom in the Mirror is not just for women who struggle with eating disorders. Mom in the Mirror is for every mom who has ever looked in the mirror and made a face at the image reflected there.
Dear Father, You know this weekend is the one our calendars call Mother’s Day. And you know the mixed emotions it brings to the heart of every woman old enough to be a mother. You know the feelings of inadequacy that inevitably come to my mother heart every Sunday morning, only magnified on Mother’s Day…
The End.
The End.
