This time of year… …is when I wonder why I can’t just sit on my kitchen floor and eat corned beef for days straight. (This time of year is when I spend days straight cooking corned beef.) This time of year is when I unabashedly, unashamedly, and uncontrollably wear green. And glitter. Though the former is more holiday-specific while the latter is just “Thursday.” I also binge-listen to Irish music. And we’re not talking “cool” Irish music like the Pogues {Read More}
P.J. creeps at a Victoria’s Secret store.
March 3, 2016 By 1 Comment
P.J. handed me a Victoria’s Secret bag after work last week . This is not super unusual. I know there are a lot of directions we can go with this information, but here’s what you really need to focus on: by handing me these Victoria’s Secret bags (on a near-quarterly basis), P.J. believes he is gaming the system. Still with me? Okay. You know those coupons for free underwear (we do not utter the word “panty” in our household) they mail {Read More}
Rest well, Jef.
February 25, 2016 By 4 Comments
I’m not entirely certain what the saints and angels are up to these days, but they seriously need to lay off with the taking of the best and brightest souls. Jeffrey Smith died yesterday morning, after a multi-decades long battle with cancer (cancers, really), and a lightning-fast stint with hospice care. The hospice seemed so, so short- maybe in comparison with his unfairly long battle, but in actuality probably because there would never be a good time to say goodbye to this {Read More}
A tribute.
February 18, 2016 By 2 Comments
You know those people in your life, the ones who radiate energy and celebration simply by showing up? My Auntie Sandy was that person for me. For my family. For a crazy extended “family” whose very definition defied distance, thanks to the equivocal magic of the internet. We lost my Auntie Sandy last weekend. It was unexpected, incredibly cruel, and remains incomprehensible. When I heard the news, my first thought was- “What? No. I’m sitting here, making Valentines for my {Read More}
The end of Cocoon Days.
February 11, 2016 By 3 Comments
When I first became a mother, I had a glorious maternity leave. I knew it was glorious, because I had the knowledge of what factors needed to be in play in order for it to be as glorious as humanly possible. They were as follows: a) A baby who chilled out when held, when in a swing or other baby-holding apparatus, or any combo therein. (<—Out of anyone’s control.) b) A freezer full of food. (<—Slightly more in your control.) {Read More}
My nighttime brain in list form.
February 4, 2016 By 2 Comments
Maybe you guys have seen the Reddit/Imgur/HuffPo piece about the Mom’s cartoon rendering of the contents of her brain. It struck a chord with a lot of people- and for good reason. Most women have a gazillion things on their minds at any given time, and if you add the “Mom” layer, it’s an especially confusing and special jumble of thoughts. So to that end, I wrote out roughly a quarter of the phrases that worked their way through my {Read More}
Terribly terrible twos.
January 28, 2016 By 4 Comments
Jasper got the memo. You know, the Terrible Two’s memo? I always thought that was a joke, an urban legend designed to encourage new parents to cuddle their babies tighter/inspire parents to think sending their kids off to school wouldn’t be all that bad. A handful? Sure! But really, what age isn’t a handful? Susannah hit the “terrible twos” at about 14 months, but hers was characterized by a marked desire to DOITMYSELF. (Which…is still going on, now that I {Read More}
See you in shiny, sparkly 2016!
December 21, 2015 By 1 Comment
Oh, friends. It’s been a year. A loud year, a quietly sad year, a tense/angry/anxious year, and a year full of such profoundly beautiful moments that they took my breath away in gratitude. Back in the day (like, as recently as 2014), my biggest New Year’s resolution was to drink more water. Because, like, I had everything else completely figured out. Hahahahahaha, 2014-and-earlier-Keely. You optimistic, dehydrated fool. This year, I’m wishing for the ability to set boundaries when I need them, {Read More}
