Novel Mom

We have been spending a lot of time in the car lately.  A lot of time. Life has been hard lately.  A lot of challenges. Sorrow.  Grief. Stress.  We survive...one day at a time.  And music helps.  One thing that helps is music.  My daughter, Liz, has a playlist.  The other day, she explained that the "car playlist" contained many of our favorites...Adele, Jewel, Lady Gaga, Florence + the Machine, Panic! at the Disco, classics and others...angsty female singers, angry rock music and the like. Here are some of our favorites: Shake it Out - Florence + The Machine This is one of Liz's favorite songs - has been for quite some time.  I remember walking in on Liz practicing with our friend, Ashley, and hearing her sing and play this on the piano.  Simply beautiful.  I love listening to Liz sing...and this one hits every mark. The lyrics, well, they say everything.  And you're bound to feel a little cheered up by the Shake it out refrain! And every demon w

Original drawing by Sarah Steele Unless you are a Mother,  and I don't care which kind, you don't know. You don't know what it is to love before you even know, to grieve the way a mother grieves the pain, the sadness, the joy and the happiness  associated with motherhood, you just don't know. You don't know how helpless it is to stand by and watch during tough times, during good times, during painful times as your child tries to right herself and get through because she can't let you down. I stand and watch the pain,  the sickness and the frustration and I wish, I pray, I hope there will be something I can do  to simply make it stop.   When people are unkind, when life is unkind when she suffers, when she is unwell. The floor is cold, but I sit there with her until it passes.  I rub her head, if that is what she wants. I fetch a cold, wet cloth if that is what she wants. I rub the scented o