As I prepare to celebrate Christmas, I’m noticing that this December feels different. It mostly looks the same, in that we’ve been attending parties and drinking eggnog and cuddling up with the kids to watch our favorite Christmas movies. Most of our traditions remain intact—except for the one where we go crazy buying presents for [...]

Every morning in December, I enjoy a laugh as I look out my front window and see our 8-foot-tall inflatable Santa flattened on the ground. It’s just so funny to see the jolly old man face-planted in the dirt, quite realistically reflecting the way I feel at the end of every December day—totally, utterly deflated. [...]

~This column ran in Wednesday’s edition of The Covington News.~ Through the month of November, many of my friends have kept track of things they’re grateful for through daily Facebook posts. It’s been rather amusing to see how the deep gratitude for spouses, children and siblings mentioned at the first of the month trickled down [...]

The lighting was dim and the air filled with the fragrance of carnations and roses last Friday night. The tiny baby lay there quietly, with perfectly round cheeks and a little button nose, like on all newborn faces. A knit cap covered his hair, a monogrammed blanket was tucked beneath his chin, and as I [...]

This column originally ran in The Covington News in 2006. I wouldn’t have believed it if someone predicted I’d give birth to two picky eaters. My older sons actually refuse to eat fresh fruit. I struggle to understand this behavior. Both of them opened up like baby birds for pureed peaches, plums, even prunes when [...]