The Last First: A Year of Grief

2014-10-07 14.27.41***Update: See this post featured on Scary Mommy and The Mighty!

In the last 365 days since my father’s death, we have faced and surmounted a litany of firsts – from big ticket items like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries to smaller hurdles like the first time my mom had to zip up her own dress or the night I absentmindedly called my dad’s phone and heard it ringing in my own desk.

Today is the last first. The first anniversary of his death.

In some ways, it feels like just yesterday he was standing in my kitchen and in others, it feels like I have aged a lifetime in these 365 days. A year is so short but the days are so long. Read more...

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A Year in Review

I should have known that 2014 was going to be a . . . challenging year when it began with a virulent bout of the stomach flu.

But things started to look up after a week at Disneyworld with our favorite people. After the Lucky Orange Pants had the time of their life at the ACC tournament and the Sweet Sixteen.  At Will’s preschool graduation. An unforgettable weekend at UVA basketball camp.  When my brother got engaged to the greatest girl in the world.  After an inauspicious beginning, 2014 was looking like the best year on record. Read more...

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Ten Things No One Told You About Motherhood

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10. You know how you were able to sleep through fire alarms at 11am in college? Forget it sister. You will now bolt straight out of bed if you hear a sigh. That’s right, a sigh. Because apparently one of the side effects of labor is developing supersonic hearing.

9. Laundry will be the bane of your existence. You will empty all the hampers, do 5 loads of laundry – none of which is yours of course because you would rather re-wear white pants covered in coffee, chocolate, and ketchup than wash One. More. F*&%ing. Thing.  As you fold and put away that 5th load, you think you’ve won. And then you realize that in the span of 3 hours, all the hampers are FULL again. Read more...

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