Category: Exhale
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Texts after babies
Sorry for being grumpy this morning / I love you / Can you print this for me? / Can you pick up almond milk? / Can you call our insurance company? / The new season of Outer Banks comes out soon / Two years ago today—can you believe how little they were?! / You can…
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Raising boys
I remember so clearly the warm summer morning that I laid on the exam table, buzzing with excitement and anticipation as the ultrasound tech exclaimed, “It’s a boy!” A boy. My eyes stung with happy tears that day, and many that followed, as I contemplated what it would be like to raise a boy. A…
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This too shall pass
When I was going through something difficult as a child, I remember my grandma often reassuring me, “This too shall pass.” On the surface, the phrase seems almost trite, another platitude among many. But as I’ve thought more about it, I’ve realized that it actually touches upon a very deep truth that so many of…
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Why I take pictures of the moon (even though they’re consistently terrible)
Because it makes me slow down and contemplate creation. Because sometimes the moon looks like a luminous pearl perched way up there in the sky and I just can’t help myself. Because I overestimate the powers of my iPhone and think this might be the time the photograph looks just as lovely as the real…
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Melissa
In the spring of 2016, my current apartment lease was ending and I needed a place to live for a few months before Josh and I got married. I casually mentioned the situation to Melissa, a friend from church. She was nearly a decade older than me and a mother to three young boys, so…
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The mulberry tree
“Raisins! Raisins!” My boys point upward towards a towering tree in our backyard, convinced it is producing raisins. We’ve been playing under its generous shade all week, and I haven’t noticed the purple jewels of fruit until now. I pluck one and feel its velvety softness between my fingers. A thin stream of violet juice…
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Stay-at-home mom
My husband and I sink onto a gray sofa in our neighbor’s living room, surrounded by new and old friends. It’s the first night that our community group is meeting, and I’m excited to get to know everyone better. “For our ice breaker,” the group leader announces, “Let’s go around the room and tell everyone…
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The beauty of unexpected things
A soccer ball in the laundry basket. Thomas the Tank Engine on the dish drying rack. An astronaut action figure in the front yard flower bed. These unexpected sights never fail to act as exclamation marks in my day, making me shake my head and smile. I mean, have you ever gone to water your…
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Woman enjoys kid-free date night without crippling anxiety
Winston-Salem mom of two, Megan Hogg, was spotted at local restaurant Mozelle’s on Saturday evening with her husband. Shockingly, there was nary a toddler or Cheerio in sight. Perhaps it was the sauvignon blanc, or the natural high that comes from finally using a gift card from last Christmas, but Megan appeared uncharacteristically relaxed and…
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Where you are
The first thing we learned about E was that he loved to dance. Buckled in his carseat during rush hour traffic, in line for a Frosty at Wendy’s, on the concrete by the side of the pool, in a busy air-conditioned mall—it didn’t matter. Wherever he was, music and dancing were sure to follow. For…
A Continual Feast 