This weekend has been a tender one: visits from dear friends who live far away and close by, weather, worry about the world and what to do, my chico with his people, so many things. Tears, a lot of them, first at a gift from my love K who gifted a set of her mother’s tarot cards to me. A whole weekend of smelling a baby’s head and marveling at her magic and missing her gran Darleen all the more. How can the world feel simultaneously scary and so beautiful at the same time? All I know is that I’m worried and I love my people. I love my people and I’m worried. Less worried about my people and less in love with the world. I wish I could talk to Darleen about all of this and I wish I could bottle baby head smell and pump it into the world because I’m pretty sure it would fix everything. Love you @keely.mcdonald and @rhinomind . Love you Moon. Clasp hands, hold on, move forward in love.♥️
I’ll never forget the day we found out that we were having a girl, our second and last kiddo. Nick saw it first, I cried. From day one, this girl has been a shining light in our family, the instigator of jokes and humor, an astute observer that nothing ever got by (“has some?” was her response to any slight sound of a snack bag crinkling). She is love and smarts and drive, this girl who has worked through some obstacles to achieve remarkable grades and success on the field. But most of all, I’m grateful (and I know her dad is as well) that we get to enjoy this next phase of adult child time as much as we have the past. It’s a remarkable thing we have, baby girl. We love you beyond. Always and forever on your team.
I can’t remember the last time I cried this hard reading a book, me, a 53 year old woman on a southbound plane to Houston sobbing so hard I can barely catch my breath. This book is beautiful and honest, a story for those who have felt unmoored in their being or unsure of who they are. It’s a grace to find your footing in the world, to know yourself and at which table you sit. And it’s a grace to love people who create that home for you, especially those who are the kind of people that when you ask for one, they give you two instead. That part, that’s truly a blessing.♥️ Kate DiCamillo, thank you for this book. Your voice was in my head as I read the pages. The world was beautiful, and still is. It still surprises me. #katedicamillo#louisianaswayhome
Every Mother’s Day is a triangle of feelings: I am a daughter to a mother and a mother to two. Loving these three beings, understanding who they are and who I am in relation to them shapes so much of my own being, grown even stronger in my mom’s absence these past 14 years. For years I think I was so focused on losing my dad that I didn’t realize the heavy lift my mom took raising all of us, the double duty of both parenting roles, being present and doing an amazing job through some really tough years. I’d give a lot to have some conversations with her now to walk through it all. This day is a squeeze for so many of us out here who both miss our moms and love our children, who know this intense feeling of what it means to be a parent and the immense loss of being a motherless daughter. It’s a fine balance between the two. Forever love you, Mom, and forever proud of being your mom, @david.giardino and @ava.giardino . You are your grandma’s biggest smile, greatest chuckle, happiest glimmer in the eye. We love you. ♥️
File under: cool things you didn’t know existed in Providence! Tool (and other things) lending library. Why buy it if you don’t need it all the time? Check them out! @pvdthings
Our family hit a major life milestone today as I put my sweet girl’s college field hockey schedule on the shared family schedule and removed the “Dad for week” “Mom for week” notation that has been part of our lives since our new family order in 2014, regular as the sun over these past ten years. Divorce is always hard, no matter what, but it can be less hard and begin new beginnings with the right amount of work and care and willing people (the key ingredient). Today I’m sitting with immense gratitude for my children’s dad, Nick, and my kids and all of the family and friends that have walked this road with us and the feelings of sadness that this part is over and excitement to see what comes next for our children and even for ourselves. Family takes many forms. And what a gift that continues to be.
I’d like to think that if @kellycorrigan and I’d met in San Francisco in 1992, that singular year after college when I’d moved with big hopes to an even bigger city (and ended up working three jobs including selling shoes at Kenneth Cole on Union Street), we’d have been fast friends. I read Glitter and Glue sitting poolside at a questionable all-inclusive resort, newly motherless, in the aftermath of breast cancer, and on the precipice of divorce. That book broke me open and years later when I would discover, and fall in love with, her podcast, I remembered her voice, her humor, her heart and her style. In recent weeks, I’ve listened through all of her writing, today finding me awash in tears, standing in my kitchen because what she’s recounting feels so close to my very own life. There’s a weird sistering that happens in hearing and holding another’s narrative, a grace of shared presence, a gratitude for the voice another person can give to experiences that mesh with your own. I’d like to think these stories would be even better over a drink, that leaning in to listen, the rocking back of laughter. We all know it and love it when we have it. Kelly, if you are ever in Providence (or Manhattan), give me a shout. First round’s on me. And thanks.
Best week with the best girl. I’m unprepared to consider what will unfold in the next few months, what distance and not “our weeks” means. But more than anything, I know this beautiful young woman is ready to tackle what comes next. Beyond, Bean. I can’t even.
Happiest birthday to this guy who makes life more enjoyable, more adventurous, more curious, more hilarious, more connected, more engaged, and more alive. It’s a beautiful thing to know and to love you, @avnitilev . May this year be just right ♥️.
Hard loss in double overtime and for a team that was undefeated in the season. So proud of these talented players and their grit and ability to keep it cool in this total nail biter. And props to my babygirl for this killer 3 point shot at the buzzer of the first overtime. Gotta take ‘em to get ‘em, maybe that’s the biggest truth of all. Love you, Bean.
(Thanks to @ericrueb31 for getting it on camera and for being so passionate about high school sports in every season.)
