That first contraction came as a whisper beckoning me from sleep. In places deep and hidden there had been a shift, a pulling of thread. And in my waking I began to unravel. Like the sea before a storm, I roiled. So many waves rose and swelled beneath my bosom. Everything in me gripping, mooring, […]
As the Father of Daughters
by on June 14, 2018 3 Comments
by John Blase | @johnblase Some play this phrase like a card in the wake of injustices to blur their sin of not honoring all women. But this was never to be a game. For some of us those words—the father of daughters—were branded on our hearts the instant you were delivered to us slick […]
One of the Most Important Things I Can Do As a Father
by on June 12, 2018 8 Comments
By Shawn Smucker | Twitter: @shawnsmucker We were under blankets in the semi-dark, dusky light lining the blinds. I was trying to soothe my 4-year-old’s bruised feelings, his heart aching at some fresh discouragement, his disappointment cresting at the great injustice of a 7pm bed time. When you are the fifth of six children, and […]
Transition is Uncomfortable
by on May 20, 2018 8 Comments
If the only experience you have ever had with human birth is the screaming, silly breathing, hand crushing TV sitcom version, then you might be surprised to know that it isn’t like that. Like … at all. I have given birth twice. Both times in an urban hospital in a high-walled kiddie pool with a […]
For the Storyholders
by on May 3, 2018 15 Comments
I sit across from a woman I have just met. Several of us have gathered in a coffee shop on the other side of the country, all attendees of a large writing conference. A few have known each other for years. But others are connecting for the first time. It’s a little odd meeting people […]
