Last night, Dr. Marry and I attended the Jeremiah Program gala, Journey for Hope. Jeremiah’s mission is the idea that you solve poverty and inequity two generations at a time by housing, educating and taking care of young single moms and their children. It’s a mission near to my heart because in so many ways, one of my dearest friends and I created that model for ourselves, a lifetime ago. Twenty two years ago, I was a 24-year old with a 21-month old. I was becoming good friends with a younger-than-me (technically I, but that sounds so pretentious!)-woman, Natalie. Natalie was pregnant and living at home. I had just moved…
Parenting
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Leave the shore behind
I went back to school when my son was 20 months old. The night before I was scheduled to start, I went over to my mom and step dad’s house. I was in a blind panic about going back to school. I felt like Quinn was too young to go to daycare, and I was sure that I was going to be ruining his life if I did this. Plus, I was going back to get an education licensure, and I knew I didn’t want to teach. But as a young single mom, I felt like my options were limited. My step dad’s opinion always mattered to me because, while…
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A day of loss, LEGO and (the start of) love
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, was one of those late summer days that help you endure the brutal, long winters we have in North Dakota. The sky was Robin’s egg blue, the glorious clouds were like cotton balls glued on to construction paper and the sun was shining, reaching every nook and cranny of our apartment. I had survived taking my son to his first day of Kindergarten. And now we were three or so weeks into the ritual of school mornings. Eighteen years ago, Quinn and I were getting ready to walk to school. We were switching back and forth between Dragon Tails and Good Morning America. I had it on GMA…
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In the face of history
I am completely overwhelmed by the situation at the border of this country. I know I’m not alone in this feeling, but I can’t shake that by doing nothing, I am complicit in the atrocity that is this piece of another chapter of our history in the making. It’s easy to look back at other times and faceless, nameless people and judge them for allowing slavery, the systemic slaughter of Native Americans, the jailing of women suffragists and civil rights activists, the extermination of Jews and others during WWII, the forced internment of Japanese and German Americans, the horrific abuse of GLBTQIA+ people and more to happen on their watch.…