Category: Life Lately

I was driving around last week with donations in my back seat because isn’t that what we do? We gather the things, we put them in the car where we’ll see them and remember to drop them off — but first they need a little adventure. So there I was, running errands in the most…

It started with an AI interview. I had applied for what I thought was a writing position. Something that made sense for where I am right now — building a blog, creating content, showing up every week with words that matter to someone. Instead I found myself sitting in front of a proctored screen being…

I always go into vacation a little flustered. The packing anxiety. The mental checklist that never fully empties. The quiet worry that I’ve forgotten something important enough to matter. When someone asks “what do you want to get accomplished tomorrow?” on vacation, my internal answer is always the same: survive. That’s it. That’s the whole…

My period showed up this week on what would have been day 43. I was talking to Nick about her late arrival and started laughing, because honestly, what else can you do? When you’re younger, a period is a rite of passage — you run toward it, through it, around it. It’s just part of…

We try before we cry. It’s something I started saying to Evelyn to help her regulate. Toddlers go straight to crying before they’ve even attempted the thing — the jacket zipper, the puzzle piece, the cup that’s too full. But once they calm down and actually try, they do it. Every time. Without even realizing…

We have been in the birthday run since May. With this many kids there is bound to be a stretch where it’s birthday after birthday — ours goes May 20, June 6, June 16, July 12, and July 25. We get a break until December. When you have four biological children, two bonus kids, and…

I have a hard time with acceptance. Logic, routine, and consistency are my love language — I genuinely believe that if you do the right things in the right order, you get the right outcome. And then I had a toddler later in life. It is 12:55pm. Lights out since noon. My almost-four-year-old has told…

I have been fighting the nastiest sinus infection for a while now, but the actual fight didn’t start until Friday when I finally caved and went to the doctor. Augmentin for seven days. My uvula swelled so badly I almost literally lost my voice — which feels like the universe’s idea of a joke considering…

Nobody puts “high conflict coparenting with a narcissist” on their vision board. And yet. Here we are. I didn’t fall in love with a situation. I fell in love with a man. The situation came standard, like a car you buy used and then spend the next decade finding out what the previous owner broke.…

Marisa is the first subject in the Still Me in Here Portrait Series, black and white photographs of women 40+ paired with the stories that shaped them. You can find her work at @marisasmusequilts on Instagram. Go look. It’s worth every minute. If something in this piece makes something light up in your own chest,…