To Isabella,

Presence – such a simple act, but not so easy to do. It’s a matter of finding peace and space. Often our minds are so active mentally reviewing our last phone call and planning our next meeting, that being present in mind, body, and soul becomes a concentration exercise. Reflecting on my many work experiences, there was only one that supported and practiced a daily routine of being quiet. It was 30 years ago and I was the program director at a children’s summer camp. Each morning before breakfast, 15 minutes was scheduled for quiet time, prayer or bible study.

Raising a family and being a writer come with their own challenges and rewards. While it would seem that being a mum would make it more difficult to be a writer, I believe that it is through parenthood I really found my voice as an artist. When my children were babies, my writing was confined to notebooks in which I hastily scribbled during nap time (if I were lucky enough to get all three to sleep at the same time). Somehow I managed to write a novel and three sequels using this method.

I was searching hard trying to find a book for my husband’s birthday I knew had to exist. First I tried “parents and creativity”, then “artists as parents.” No go. There were books on raising creative children, and bios of artists who happened also to have kids, but no how-to books on how to be both creative and a parent. My husband, a contemporary artist and dedicated dad, was struggling to find space in his life for art, while juggling a job and the demands of being the world’s greatest Papa. But in the world of books it seemed no one thought of these things as compatible.

I sat on the couch in the dark, staring at the innocent face of my newborn son, Jacob, while tears of frustration, fear, and exhaustion streamed down my face. This was my third time feeding him since midnight and I knew it was not the last. “Will he ever sleep through the night?” I wondered to myself. “I don’t want to do this every night”. My body still ached from the rigors of childbirth and my mind was beginning to cloud with uncertainty. “I have been waiting for this moment for years, so why am I so miserable? I can’t believe I am a mother? What if I fail?

Isn’t it interesting how all year long we teach our kids not to talk to strangers and never take candy from someone you do not know, then Halloween comes along all the rules change? No wonder some kids are confused!

Getting It Together has an exciting approach to having a fun, safe and organized Halloween.

Host a Halloween Party on Halloween Night

Creative Halloween Costume Ideas:

Frriiyeep! I peered over the sloshing bowl of Cheerios at my son. The look on his face was unlike any I‘d seen before – a blend of extreme delight, pride, enormous respect, and shocked disbelief. Had his body emitted this glorious, odiferous, combination of disgusting sounds?

Remember dating? Remember trying to find one person with whom you wanted to spend your free time? Now we’ve got five people in our family. So when we “date” other families, there are five judgers on our side, three to five on the other side, and all the permutations of relations that come with that many people trying to want to hang around together.

Becoming a mother is an experience that takes one from a life of inward focus to that of greater meaning. Suddenly it doesn’t really matter if the windows are spotless and the shelves are dusted. It doesn’t matter whether the laundry room is overflowing or dishes are always done. Instead, becoming a mother teaches one that life is full of much more significant definitions. Minutes that will pass by in an instant, children that grow and change so quickly. Motherhood is learning to draw pictures in the dust, run barefoot in the rain. To laugh uncontrollably, and to love unconditionally.