mothering

Be Still My Soul

When my grandfather died, my three brothers and I sang at his funeral. My grandfather was a professional singer and had a divine voice, well suited to liturgical music. He would have been a little critical of our diction no doubt – getting those consonant endings crisp enough was a pet peeve. We acquitted ourselves […]

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Four Birth Stories and a Voice for Every Mother Counts

I’ve had four opportunities to test my body’s limits and be the co-creator of new life. Four chances to bring a child into the world, four first breaths, four beginnings. With each birth, I learned more about what I was capable of, and with each birth, I found power, courage and voice. My eldest child, […]

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Faith, Mercy and Letting Go

Last night in a special church meeting, I received a pink balloon (not a typical church experience!), along with my 400 fellow congregates. It represented two things. The first was to honor the memory of Emilie Parker, who lost her life almost a year ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The second purpose was an […]

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Back-to-School-Mom’s Kids Get Their Revenge

Last August, during standard “back-to-school” photos, one mom (a dear friend of mine) in a split second decision, asked her kids to make a sad face for a fun photo. The pic was snapped by her husband in one take. She slapped it up on her Facebook page and thought nothing of it.  A bit […]

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Please Bless All the People

Every night since Sandy Hook, my 6 year old son has uttered essentially the same prayer. “Please bless all the people and all the earth that no bad things will happen and that everyone will be OK.” Clearly this last week (and many of the weeks prior) this prayer has not felt answered. He doesn’t know […]

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Back to School Anywhere Else After Sandy Hook

I don’t know what today feels like for a teacher. But I know what it feels like for a mother. I’m betting those feelings are pretty similar, no matter your gender or the number of your offspring. It’s my baby’s birthday. His birth story is wonderful, rich with memories and love. But I can’t tell […]

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Tweens Praying Over the Spaghetti

I’m in the land of tweens and I have no idea what I’m doing. Mean girls are everywhere. There’s lots of signs I’m doing this all wrong (me, not her). But every now and then there is a moment, and it changes everything. You can mentally allow yourself to fast forward to a future global […]

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Why Social Good Summit is My Favorite Event of the Year

Three years in to the ground breaking event that is the Social Good Summit, I still pinch myself that I get to be a part of it! A host of conversations with world leaders, companies, nonprofits and representatives from various United Nations agencies opens up the world of the UN to the world via digital […]

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Are You Glued to the Olympics? What Do They Represent for You?

I’m not  sporty person, but like millions, I’m transfixed by the Olympics. I consumed every moment I could of the opening ceremony, quietly teary as the athletes of the 204 competing nations entered the stadium. By the lighting of the cauldron I gave up all pretense of not crying. It was a monumental moment. “As […]

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Anne-Marie Slaughter and the Trade-Off Ratio of Work Life Balance

Recently I was invited to apply for a CEO position for a very cool start-up targeting new mothers. I pondered over it for 24 hours, googled everything I could find on the company’s founder and backers, and thought long and hard about two key questions. Was something I could do (did I have the skills […]

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