Changing body. Changing Spirit.

I am trying to understand this strange new person who wakes up in my daughter's room everyday. She has always been temperamental and sensitive. I have come to expect that most dealings with her will involve a challenge. But the cool, snippy voice, the poker face, the propensity for burrowing into her messy bed, and not coming out except for meals or to watch WHAT NOT TO WEAR—these are new behaviors.

I worried for the first few weeks of her personality shift, until I overheard other mothers anguishing about their pre-teens' new personas: Where has my little girl gone? Why has she become an angry hurricane? What’s with the curt tone? And then I found a one word salve: Hormones! How could I have missed the signs? 

Years ago, when I told my daughter the story of “the birds and the bees,” I neglected to research (and remember) what to expect when you're expecting ... puberty. 

This phase of my child’s life, like all the others we will navigate together, requires me to conscientiously explore new information. Today I will slow down to study, prepare for the temporary discomfort and challenge, and eventually come through with an expanded sense of physicality. 

And, I'll relax. Until the next time she calls me a fashion disaster.

Blessing for the Mothers

Anticipate the joy of life as a mother. Flourish with the gifts your children bring. Nurture yourself, too, as you care for your loved ones. Show your children the way of wonder. Voice your thoughts in kindness and clarity. Stand tall for your children, family, and community. Listen deeply with compassion. Envision a good life and a welcoming world. Embrace your children with open, loving arms. Awaken to this day with a grateful heart. May you find the gift of peace in every little moment of motherhood. Many blessings, Andrea

Tall oaks from little acorns grow.

I've watched the trees closely as long as I can remember and along the way befriended a forest of favorites. There was the generous flowering plum in the front yard on Stratford Drive that blossomed in April, and by July was laden with shiny little plums. I would shimmy up the trunk, balance on a thick branch, and pluck and eat the tart fruit until my stomach groaned. Through 30 summers at Lake Tahoe, I measured the growth of a Ponderosa pine sapling I discovered as a toddler growing next to the redwood deck. By the time I vacationed with my own children at our summer house, that courageous tree was taller than the roofline and was my father’s gauge for whether or not he could take his grandchildren out on the lake for a boat ride. If the tip-top of the pine was still, needles steady, catching the sunlight, we knew the lake was calm. But if the crown was swaying, Papa called off the trip. He knew the white capped waves would toss and bump his little fishing boat and make it difficult to navigate through the rocky cove. But my favorite was the weeping cherry tree I called Pom-Pom that showered me with petal confetti as I lay daydreaming on the lawn. I loved to watch a pair of robins add one thin twig, a piece of torn newspaper, another bird's lost feather, to their nest in the crook of that happy tree. I passed many long spring Saturdays staring through the wizened branches at the blue sky and passing clouds. I wrote my first book under Pom-Pom and vowed one day to publish a thank you poem for my treasured trees. I wanted to show my appreciation for the gifts of courage and hope that trees give to the world—beginning life as a curious seed, growing willfully up through the dark soil, branches reaching skyward anticipating the sun and rain, then later kneeling down to nourish earth with its crunchy, golden leaves. And beginning all over again.

Give me a happy day.

I've watched my two children and their circle of friends grow through the ages—a rainbow of faces and personalities spanning our family life. They all seem to want (and need) the same direction from us, their grown-up guides. * Give me a happy day. * Answer what I ask. * Be calm. * Help me stand. * Show the good. * Listen to my song. * Belong to me. * Dream with me. * Hug me close. * Bring me magic. * Show me the way home.