I often wrestle with what it means to be beautiful and how I live that out. I’m a huge believer that beauty shines from the inside out, but when it comes to what I see in the mirror, I can’t seem to apply that rubric. As someone currently struggling with my own self-esteem, I can…
Doing It All
It’s Like Being an Adult at Christmas
I know that Christmas can be a hard season for anyone over the age of 10. As a kid, Christmas is a day full to the brim with the wonder of newness and excitement and surprises and magic. But as we age, expectation slowly starts creeping in, fogging the light that is that Christmas wonder….
Put Them to Work
Please excuse the mess. The children are making memories. Is that how the saying goes? The truth is that the mess you see in my home means that I have a husband who works way more hours than full-time and three little boys who seem to actively try to undo any of the housework I…
More Than A Manny
Whenever I would tell my husband that I wished he would come home, he’d joke that it wasn’t really him I wanted, but a manny (definition: male nanny). He assumed that I only wanted help with the kids and the home, preferably from a male help-mate. The truth is, he was right. I craved help in…
What I Want For My Birthday: 30th Edition
I turn 30 on Sunday, and earlier this week, my husband asked me what I want for my birthday. He told me to answer him that night, but he didn’t ask again, so I assumed that he had forgotten and that I had more time. It was great because I had (and still have) absolutely no…
Day 21
Writing has become a chore. This whole “write every day” thing is a wonderful idea, and I know it is important for me as a writer to exercise this thing that I say I do. In theory, I want to write daily. I do love writing. But in practice I find myself coming to the…
Cutting the Cheese: A Case for Family Photography and an Explanation for my Broken Heart
I just got home from my second photoshoot of the day (note from the editor/writer: this was obviously written the night before it was published. On Saturday night. Does everything make sense now?). On top of everything else, I’m a photographer, and for the first time in a while, I’m back at it. I started…
Pardon my French: Why a Gender-Equal Cabinet is Important
It is another exciting day in the Canadian political landscape, and if that isn’t the most exciting opening sentence I have ever written, I don’t know what is. Today is the day that our new (and yes, handsome) Prime Minister is sworn in to office along with his chosen Cabinet. I am trying to decide…
Getting Closer to Words
The sheet is blank. There are no words. Well, now there are. Thirteen, to be exact. And now nineteen. And just like that, the sheet isn’t blank anymore. Something was said, by me actually. From my brain to my fingers, from my fingers to my keyboard, from my keyboard via Bluetooth to my iPad, from my iPad to…
The Family Who Votes Together
I’m really looking forward to Monday. (Who says that?) Monday is election day in Canada and we get to elect a new federal government. It is pretty darn exciting actually. I have no idea when elections became exciting to me. Initially, I think I enjoyed voting day because it was something new – a break in the…
Book Review: Open Boxes
Do you feel like your life is compartmentalized? Man. I sure do. And that is hard. I mean, honestly, it affects my marriage. It is so hard to be in mom-mode all day and then jump into wife-mode. And what about all the other parts of me? My passions? My goals? They don’t just sit around in a…
