The holding on – isn’t it so much easier to let go?
Over the last year, I have been fighting – psychologically, at least – to stay encouraged.
Tag: Happiness
I Used to Think
I used to think I knew everything, then I attended college.
I used to think money would buy happiness, then I held my first real job.
I used to think I understood sacrifice, then I entered marriage.
Life after 30
I woke up with a hangover.
From Halloween, that is. In countless ways, my body was telling me, Lauren, you’ve had enough. Maybe it was all the cheap candy or my fatigued feet, but the message was painfully clear.
I’ve got to start taking care of myself again.
Happy Trails
The week after my freshman year of college, my first love broke my heart. He ripped it out, used it as target practice, and urinated on the tiny fragments of my innocence.
So I agreed to an overnight camping adventure with my childhood friends. Tears were shed, alcohol was consumed, and a battle of the sexes resulted in toilet paper and Pop-Tarts being burned beyond recognition. I needed to remember how to laugh again.
Most vivid, however, was my endless night in a poorly pitched tent. I tossed. I turned. Despite my best efforts, I could not escape a jagged rock beneath the nylon.
Yet, somehow, I found healing in the midst of my life’s first mental crisis. And – just before sunrise – the mountains closed their arms around me.
You are home.
Mending All
Do good fences make good neighbors?
Of this, I am unsure. But a home in our neighborhood is now surrounded by newly planted planks.
[Insert echoes of a nail gun here]
The Answer to Marriage Is Soccer
I wanted to be angry. Truly.
After a Saturday full of child laughter (i.e. parent supervision), the last thing I wanted to do was put both kids to bed by myself. The very act ages me exponentially. But my husband wanted to go to a soccer game, and I knew this “favor” would come in handy at a later time of convenience.
Marriage mistake #1: Keeping score.
My Parent Self[ie]
The picture was terrible. Just terrible. But, then again, selfies were likely invented by someone younger than I am.
After several chaotic hours with my children, I decided that the real cherry on top of our day should be special. Go hard or go home, right?
We ventured to the local Wildlife Center in a muggy 90 degrees for their daily show. Thirty minutes of educational entertainment for $0 sounded like the best idea I have had in weeks. My son was thrilled.
So excited, in fact, that he improvised and stuck his tongue out when my thumb finally found the capture button.
It Rained Upon a New Fedora
“You’re so hipster.”
If you are a mother who prides herself on being countercultural, this statement stings a little. I proceeded to shoot my husband the look.
“Well, you are wearing a fedora.”
Truth. Earlier that day, I had purchased my very first non-winter – dare I say fashionable – hat. It seemed like the perfect item to hide my exhaustion long enough to survive an evening of carnival fun in my hometown.
Only I didn’t plan for the rain.
Deep Waters
It all began with a phone call. The climax, that is.
Unsurprisingly, my husband and I had forgotten to re-enroll ourselves in a health insurance plan for the upcoming year. It was approximately 4:48 p.m. this past Friday when my husband desperately took action to beat the deadline. He called me with an urgent tone to obtain our daughter’s social security number in order to complete the process.
For the average person, such a request seems minor; to the mother on the verge of an emotional breakdown, however, this is enough to wage a war.
Where is her card? Oh, no, I can’t find her card…
[Cue wailing newborn and insert curious, no-personal-space toddler here]
Unlearning 