the Mother Runner

Maybe it’s that school – or the prospect of school – is once again on the horizon, but I’m feeling the need to build train tracks and read stories and invite the boys into the kitchen to help out more often. (The girl needs no invitation, and she finds her own ways to help – [...]

I crossed the finish line of my third marathon exhausted, sick, and defeated. I’d run a personal record, but I’d failed to achieve my goal. It had not been a good race. I’d walked much of the last six miles and had grown more and more discouraged as people on the course tried to encourage [...]

“Is everyone who lives in Ignorance like you?” asked Milo.  “Much worse,” he said longingly. “But I don’t live here. I’m from a place very far away called Context.” “Don’t you think you should be getting back?” suggested the boy, holding one arm up in front of him. “What a horrible thought.” The bird shuddered. [...]

New York City in the spring. Always worth the wait. After months of bundling up and staying close to home, of keeping our heads down and pushing our way through the snow and cold, we are unwrapping ourselves, exploring areas we were once familiar with, opening up to see how the winter has reshaped our [...]

The Little Miss turned 9 months yesterday and is growing up so fast. Just like every child. She stands! Unassisted! For several seconds at a time! This is a development I never would have guessed from this little being who is so quiet and content and unassuming most of the time. She reminds me of [...]

I’ve heard it said that you never get over the fear of the marathon. No matter how many times you’ve done it, 26.2 miles is a long way and no matter how well-prepared you are, there is plenty of time and space for unpredictability. And also, it hurts. Most marathon runners I know have had [...]

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that I am running a marathon on Monday. Maybe once or twice? I am excited and nervous, even though this is not my first rodeo. It is my fifth and I know how these things go. Lots of anxiety, anticipation, excitement. And then, finally, the first steps. I can [...]

I think it’s safe to say we’ve had an . . . interesting couple of weeks. New job. Flu. Strep. Marathon training. Teething. Weekend getaway. Part of me wants to say, Just wait a couple of weeks. It’ll all calm down and be normal then. And the other part of me says, This is normal. This is what [...]

Several months ago as we were walking to the library, we passed some guy who was, apparently, asleep in a doorway. At least, that is what it looked like to me. People sleep in doorways in New York City, right? That’s a thing, right? Nothing to be concerned about? Even in the middle of a [...]

Some weeks are great for scraping things down to the bare bones of life to see what’s there. It turns out we don’t need much sleep. We don’t need to go grocery shopping. In fact, we don’t need to go anywhere or do anything. Because some weeks you just can’t handle anything extra or anything fun. [...]