I See What You Meme

As I sit here writing this, I mark 13 years since I was in labor with Charlotte. I am the mom of a teenager. And yet, I’m not. Every year, Charlotte’s birthday hits me a different way. Every year in the grief process is a little bit different. The arrival of her birthday so close on the heels of the end of the school year frequently triggers thoughts for me about how Charlotte’s peers continue to move forward while she Seriously. Kids these days... remains frozen in time as a four year old. As the school year ends, I see her peers moving on to middle school, attending dances, achieving milestones, and just plain getting older (Puberty! Eek!). It always leaves a twinge of jealousy and sadness in my heart. I try to imagine what she would be like, what her interests would be. Knowing how much she was my “mini-me” as a youngster, I lift up hope that she might have strayed from my junior high life as an awkward, frizzy-haired, coke-bottle-eyeglass-wearing teenager. ...

I found myself reminded this week of some of my favorite and most popular pieces of writing. Life couldn't get much busier these days so I use that as my excuse and apologize in advance for this post.  This, my friends, is a clip show.   I was thrilled to see Hello Grief  re-post one of my pieces over the weekend. (I'm not the only one who uses reruns.) I have to admit that this is one of my favorite grief analogies, even though I practically tripped over it in the process. I was also thrilled to read this Huffington Post article  regarding Chick-fil-A's turnaround stance in their use of funds toward anti-gay initiatives.  My piece in Richmond Mom  citing my thoughts on the subject last July was one of the website's top articles of 2012. This development gives me new hope for waffle fries in my future.   My thoughts have also been on Downton Abbey this week.  I won't give away any spoilers for those still catching up but I related o...