It’s Nature Karen

Category: Motherhood

  • 2 Conversations with a Kindergartener

    Conversation #1: If you put that flower in the ground, it’ll never grow. Because it doesn’t have a root ball. Huh? Oranges? No, not a fruit ball. A root ball. That’s how plants get their nutrients from the soil. Nutrients are…well, it just won’t grow. Believe me. No, I’m not a hater. We can go to…

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  • The Cactus Flower

    Getting our taxes done used to be my least favorite thing until I discovered buying a house. What was supposed to be a fairly straightforward process turned into a stressful nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. It’s certainly not life threatening, but it’s not nothing either. When all of your belongings are packed into…

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  • The Sacred Art of Self-Care

    Hellllloooo? Is anyone out there? I’ve been away for so long that I hope you all haven’t forgotten me. We are finally in our new house and I plan to start posting again soon. In the meantime, I’m honored to be a part of Kelsey Munger’s thought provoking series on self-care with a piece that…

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  • Middle Space

    His hand in mine feels so small and perfect. We’re walking and he’s telling me about the strong evidence that Jar Jar Binks is really a Sith Lord and he’s promising to show me all the YouTube videos that prove it. I’m barely paying attention (huh? that goofy Gungan a Sith Lord?) because all I…

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  • What I’m Reading This Winter

    I keep checking in with myself. “Am I ok?” Then I pause and wait for some sign or feeling that I’m not ok and it hasn’t come.  This feeling of stability is wonderful, especially with the craziness that I’ve taken on. In the last month I’ve tackled Thanksgiving, end-of-year preparations for our business, Christmas shopping, holiday parties,…

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  • Trigger Points Anthology, The Parenting Book that Breaks the Silence

    When I come across a picture of myself as a child, I fight against what I see. I see her smiling face but most of the time, I don’t remember being her. In my childhood memories, I’m not really a child at all but something other. I’ve been in recovery for awhile now and I…

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  • Bumpy Nubs and Poking Threads

    Update: This post was Freshly Pressed November 7, 2015. I’m so excited to be over at Lipstick and Laundry today with a post about family history, with a twist. I deconstructed the classic linear timeline, allowing the hidden connections, common struggles, pivotal moments and everyday choices to shine through. Hop on over and check it out!…

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  • It Begins As A Thought

    It begins as a thought. A sarcastic musing when I read an email or a mean spirited brood over a status on Facebook. An uncharitable opinion, a negative view, a snarky jab. This isn’t who I am but this is exactly who I am when I don’t pay attention to what I’m doing. It’s embarrassing…

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  • Big Girls Do Cry

    My daughter watched me burst into tears yesterday. It started in the morning when I connected my new printer and couldn’t get it to work. It was incredibly frustrating but I didn’t despair. I still had options. After uninstalling and reinstalling the software on my laptop, I was able to print wirelessly. I did a little happy…

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  • What Happens Next (and an update of sorts to My Hard Truth)

    I’ve spent the last year learning what it means to trust myself in dark places. I don’t mean darkness in the sense of depression or danger. More like learning to feel my way through the dark without automatically reaching over to turn on a light and asking myself what I need to learn in this…

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