Writing
“Should I have weaned her? The question looms in my mind. Should I have weaned her when I had the chance, before the baby was born? But I didn't want to wean her then. I was so aware of the dwindling days, the end of our time together as just the two of us. Every moment was saffron-precious, and I couldn't bear to waste it. Weaning was not an option.”
A Nursing Triad, appearing on Mothering.com, June 2008.
“Perhaps not the most shining PR moment for Johnson & Johnson? The days following the disinvitations saw blogger comments from mamas who were invited, not invited, and disinvited—and considering that over one hundred women were invited for just fifty spots at camp, a lot of people had something to say.”
Baby Got Camp?, appearing in Brain, Child, June 2008.
“When the daughter of a vineyard owner is betrothed to a man she cannot love, she pleads with her father to reconsider. But in ancient Israel, age-old traditions are not dismissed lightly. Can she escape the forced marriage? Will she be allowed to marry her true love? And what will her betrothed do when he finds out she is trying to get out of the arrangement? When you’re a young woman living in a world of men’s traditions, sometimes all you can do is pray for a miracle.”
When the Light was Still New, available for download from The Wild Rose Press, February 2008.
“She is overwhelmed by the party, confused by the noise, and frustrated by her dress, but if she can have her nursies, she knows, as do I, that everything is going to be all right.”
The Gift, appearing in New Beginnings, the journal of La Leche League International, January-February 2008.
“I wish the faith I am passing down to her wasn’t so fraught; I wish the tears she sheds at her baptism could be her last. As she sobs, the priest makes the sign of the cross on her forehead: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.”
Me and My House, appearing in DreamSeeker Magazine, January 2008.
“I guess I shouldn't have been suprised to hear that my brother had been sitting by the side of the road, calling out to healers, telling them he wanted to see. I could picture it as easily as if I'd been there. What happened next, though, was strange beyond words.”
Bartimaeus the Blind, appearing in Conte: A Journal of Narrative Writing, December 2007.
“It's six months postpartum: do you know where your baby bump is? According to a New York Times Fashion & Style article, an increasing number of new mothers are shelling out the $10,000-$30,000 needed for a ‘mommy makeover,‘ in an effort to erase any outward sign that they might have given birth.”
Lovely Lady Lumps, appearing in Brain, Child, December 2007.
“Ten minutes before the service starts, a priest is pounding down the aisle in full stride. As my one-year-old daughter spots him, she squeals in recognition and holds out her hand. He whirls around to face her. ‘Shhh!‘ he hisses. ‘Be quiet.‘ And with a swoosh of his robes, he is gone.”
The Church Incarnate, appearing in Episcopal Life, December 2007.
“My friends and I cheered: So we Pennsylvanians were a bit behind the times, but now we're all caught up! Pop the cork on the champagne, right? Maybe not. Apparently, there's still a question about whether the new breastfeeding bill has any teeth.”
Hip, Hip...Oh, Never Mind, appearing in Brain, Child, September 2007.
“I closed my eyes and counted four breaths before I answered my husband. It was useless getting angry with him, he'd never nursed a baby. He couldn't understand. Once again, I missed Miriam.”
The Journey Home, appearing in Literary Mama, August 2007.
“Suddenly, my nightly bedfellows were again the concern of anyone and everyone. Don't you let that baby sleep with you, I heard again and again. You let her into your bed once, and the next thing you know she'll be a teenager.”
Sleeping Around, appearing in Hip Mama, January 2007.
“Mama is a step, not only on the road to my daughter becoming verbal, but to me—her mother—becoming a mama.”
Saying Mama, appearing in MotherVerse, January 2007.
“Most of my friends say I will never succeed. A select few say of course I can do it, a baby shouldn't stand in the way of a Ph.D., and I want them, desperately, to be right.”
My Little Comma, excerpted in the Penn Stater, November 2006.
“I love the 'baby bump,' don't get me wrong; the precious little belly swelling away brings hormonally-induced tears to my eyes at least daily. But why must the rest of me grow so much? Why?”
Body Blues, appearing in Mamazine, September 2006.
“I see their guilt hunched over them/Notre Dame looming behind stooped shoulders/in the barren light shielding us from the cold outside/from corporate memories of the night before.”
Ash Wednesday, appearing in Time of Singing, April 2006.
“My life has become a series of moments, an odd amalgamation of dirty dishes and thesis research, dirty laundry and comprehensive bibliographies. Added in to this already complicated mix, my daughter now serves as the connective tissue linking fragments together as my time is separated and divided, measured and spaced, by her constant needs.”
Birthing: A Process in Vignettes, appearing in Literary Mama, November 2005.
