cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
I held death in my arms once. In February 2008 the tiny body of my nephew, born 20 weeks early, was brought to me wrapped in a blanket in sister-in-law Deanna’s hospital room. In my womb a 20-week-old baby kicked. It felt like the hardest thing I would ever have to do, continue growing life…
Read More
Losing Mom brought change on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. There was a change in her eating habits, medication dosing, daily routines. There was a change in her sleep cycles, energy cycles, and tolerance for company. There was a change in her physical ability, emotional capacity, and mental acumen. This was difficult to face, let…
Read More
It’s mid-August 2020, the third week following Mom’s life-changing scan. This journey into the unknown, a terminal cancer diagnosis, is still new. Two of my sisters return from Ohio for a second visit. They will make many more eight-hour drives over the next weeks and months, together and separately. Across town, I try to establish…
Read More
Goodbye begins July 27, 2020, with a text. The doctor just called with the scan results, and it’s not good. Can you come over? My brand-new 14-year-old is in the middle of blowing out twisty rainbow candles on an ice cream birthday cake. It is homemade by a sister and looks delicious. We finish singing…
Read More
I have one more year left in my twenties. Some might say I’m a young spring chicken with barely any life under my belt (but we don’t wear belts anymore, thank you, high-waisted jeans!). That’s not untrue. I am pretty young in the grand scheme of things, but as I consider the seasons that have…
Read More
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Red Tent Living, we are featuring a monthly legacy post written by one of our regular contributors from the past decade. Becky Allender is one of the original Red Tent writers; she’s been with us since 2013. Her voice has offered the blessing of a matriarch and been…
Read More
I wasn’t there when my parents said their marriage vows 61 years ago, but I was there when their vows were fulfilled. Both the beginning of their union and the end were marked with a kiss. Bearing witness to this moment was one of the most holy honors of my life. In mid-September my 87-year-old…
Read More
My heart felt heavy. My lungs felt empty. My mind couldn’t form a coherent thought. The loss was more than I had ever known. The hurt resonated deep within my soul.
Read More
You came, I knew that you would come You sang, my heart it woke up I’m not afraid, I see your face, I am alive –Jonathan David and Melissa Helser Are you done yet? I hurled the accusation at the sky. What more do you want? How much more can I take?
Read More
“Bean, I’ve made it home!” I felt my dad’s spirit speaking to me through the pitch black night. As I stood alone with this new truth and my sister’s words “dad’s dead” summersaulting in my head, I turned my gaze up toward heaven.
Read More