When we moved from our small town in Wisconsin to urban Toronto, it came with many changes. One was a significant career shift for my husband, Tim. In Wisconsin, Tim had been a practicing attorney. And while he loved the mental wrestling with a complex legal challenge, his ADHD made efficiency exceptionally difficult. Much of … Continue reading Lunch #1000wordsofsummer
Family
Party #1000wordsofsummer
My dad was the eldest of 5, and the only one to move (slightly) away. The rest of his siblings all lived within roughly 15 miles of each other and I had loads of cousins. When I was growing up, these cousins would all have massive family birthday parties. One of my favourites was when … Continue reading Party #1000wordsofsummer
Divorce #1000wordsofsummer
The first people I knew who got divorced were my uncle Randy and aunt Cathy. Apparently she had fallen in love with someone she worked with and decided to leave my uncle. Their marriage had been challenging, as he was an alcoholic, but he’d gotten sober and was absolutely head-over-heels for their little girl. When … Continue reading Divorce #1000wordsofsummer
Perfume #1000wordsofsummer
My mom hated perfume. She said it gave her a headache. But really, I think it was the combination of ALL the perfumes mixing and swirling around the car following a shopping trip that was truly the culprit. You see, my grandma – she loved perfume. As a kid, I spent many Saturdays hunting for … Continue reading Perfume #1000wordsofsummer
Sister #1000wordsofsummer
I have only one sister. One sibling. She’s three years younger than I am, and I can still remember waiting on the cement steps outside my front door on that July afternoon, watching for my parents to pull into our driveway with my new sister, Melanie. I was only three, and I think its likely … Continue reading Sister #1000wordsofsummer
Church #1000wordsofsummer
I found “god” in the tall pines and sunset views of Green Lake. Along the rock labyrinth in the woods and through the barefoot singalong in the chapel. I wouldn’t say any of these were miraculous but I felt a profound sense of connection to something bigger while participating in the Mom & Me summer … Continue reading Church #1000wordsofsummer
Storm #1000wordsofsummer
On one perfect night in July, we ended up back at one of my favourite places, Stoney Acres farm in Athens, Wisconsin. It had been one hell of a day. My husband, Tim, and I had traveled from Toronto to Central Wisconsin with 4 kids: (almost) 2, 3, 6 and 10, in an epic whirlwind … Continue reading Storm #1000wordsofsummer
#1000wordsofsummer
So, it's been a minute. I've still been writing, but not in formats that seemed ripe to publish. Recently I made a new friend, Mary, who introduced me to a fun challenge: #1000wordsofsummer. Best selling author, Jami Attenberg, started a challenge back in 2018 to inspire her writing community to write 1000 words per day, … Continue reading #1000wordsofsummer
Snowflakes & Heartbreak
I was 15 or 16 and experiencing my first bitter taste of heartbreak. I honestly don’t remember many of the details, except that it was the first time a boy had shattered my heart. He wasn’t wrong, and I probably deserved it. I was confident that he adored me, and I’m certain I took him … Continue reading Snowflakes & Heartbreak
Do Overs
The time I let my heart sliplike a butterfly, escaping the cocoon.Stretching away from you.Silent.Expected by everyone elseexcept for me – that fresh creature – stretching my paper-thin wings.Dancing with danger.The time I used forceto overpower my baby (physically and his will).Not to abusebut to control to contain.And I watched the reactionin his eyesturn to … Continue reading Do Overs
The [Unofficial] Moth Blog 