“Marked” at Brain, Child

Instead of a post today, you get a link … to my essay, “Marked,” which is up at Brain, Child Magazine!

You can read it here.

“Marked” at brainchildmag.com.

P.S.  That’s not me in the picture!

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How Downton Abbey changed my life

Downton Abbey Season 3 cast. From downtonline.com

Tonight is the season finale of Downton Abbey.  A lot has happened in this third season, but I’m not going to write about it.  (No spoilers here!)  Instead I’m thinking about how watching Downton Abbey has — subtly — changed my life.

 

Last year I wrote (in I [heart] Downton Abbey) that

For the first few months of the twins’ first year I felt like I was living in another century.  Not much happened (other than eating and sleeping and diaper-changing).  I didn’t get out much.  I didn’t read much.  I didn’t see many movies (on Netflix) or even watch much TV.  And when I did read or watch something, it felt like I had many days to mull it over while I rocked a baby or jiggled a bouncy seat.  It reminded me of drawing room life — especially for a woman: lots of sitting around and processing the few things that actually happened.

 

This drawing-room mood was helped by … Downton Abbey.

Now the twins are almost two, and I find it hard to remember what that “drawing-room mood” felt like!  But I do remember, when they were infants, how

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Seasons of the Celtic Year

Last night I went to a class on Celtic spirituality that focused on the seasons.  We were given this infographic to show how the Celtic holidays line up with Christian ones, as well as natural markers of the meteorological seasons.

I love how each season has a suggested attitude to go with it.  Now is a time of Receptivity and Gathering; soon it will be time for Budding and Flowering.  But not yet, not yet.  The last thing I want to do is rush the seasons (they way commerce does, with Easter candies already edging out the Valentine’s displays).

From the Perpetual Celtic Calendar found here: http://www.matyiart.com/gallery.php.

We were then asked

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Tiny snow

The twins are talking more and more, and stringing words together into almost-sentences.  They’re still big into nouns (like sock or shoe) and prepositions that are really commands (like on! or off!) but a few verbs are sneaking in (like sit and eat).  The word of the week, however, is an adjective: tiny.

I introduced it to describe an almost invisible scratch that was being presented to me with lots of drama as a boo-boo.  I said yes, but it’s a tiny boo-boo — not so bad.  And “tiny boo-boo” stuck.

It’s only been a few days but now all kinds of boo-boos are tiny, a speck of food on the high chair tray is tiny, and a little picture of a dinosaur on the spine of a board book is tiny.  But what I’m really impressed with is

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Toot toot!

I haven’t been posting as much here as I usually do, but that’s because I’ve been writing writing writing — and my hard work has been paying off!

Here’s a little happy horn tooting:

I’ve had work accepted at r.kv.r.y quarterly.

r.kv.r.y “Friends and Family” issue.

And I’ve had work accepted at Stealing Time: A Literary Magazine for Parents.  (You can read my review of their very first Genesis issue here.)

Stealing Time “Genesis” cover.

AND I’ve had work accepted at

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