Jared is moving home today.
It’s taken me 12 13 14 tries to write that sentence out.
Actually, I’ve written that sentence over and over and over again – it’s what comes before and after that sentence that keeps tripping me up.
Before
Almost everything that has happened over the last few months has led directly away from this [...]

I actually missed the anniversary date.
That in itself is a sign of progress, I think.
August 10th, two days ago, marked two years since we moved to Florida.
Last year, I marked this date with a resignation and acceptance of homesickness.
This year, I spent the day working from home, my boss and best friend sitting on my [...]

It is said that somewhere in Iowa, a small town’s football team still takes a knee before each game.  The players and coaches join hands and bow their heads, and they defy the laws that tell them that they cannot pray together.  It is rumored that they kneel together and recite the Lord’s Prayer.
“Our Father, [...]

I am from Parkersburg, Iowa.
I wasn’t born there, I don’t live there now, but it is, without a doubt, where I am from.
It is – and will always be – integral to who I am.
On Wednesday morning, that part of who I am was once again hit by tragedy.  But this tragedy was far, far [...]

The condensed version of this post is, basically:
I had a good weekend.
The long version is:
Wednesday night I took my last Cymbalta.  My primary care doctor recommended I switch my anti-depressants in order to fix everything that was wrong with me.  My endocrinologist explained that yeah, actually, Lexapro is probably a better drug for someone like [...]

.!.
“Mom, when are we going to change houses again?”
Emma doesn’t speak to me for the first half of our morning drive to daycare.  I think it takes her that long to get over being pissed about having to get up in the morning.  I can tell she’s over it when she suddenly launches into conversation.
“I [...]

1 – Got real, big girl dining room furniture. Sure, it’s secondhand (and therefore missing the real, big girl price tag), but it’s beautiful. And mine. And I love it.
2 – Rearranged all of my china into my new ginormous hutch. I also sorted and reorganized all of my linens (which [...]

When you’ve been away from your house for oh, let’s say, about 10 days, one of the first things you’ll notice when you get home is that it’s been damn near a year since you’ve made any progress on decorating your not-so-new-anymore house.
At that point, the best thing to do is wait until oh, let’s [...]

We got home from Parkersburg Sunday morning.
I wonder if I’ll ever be able to use that word again without an overwhelming flood of emotions, not the least of which is guilt. And confusion. And just raw, raw, raw… emotion. My perception of home has changed dramatically in the last week.
It is a [...]