Growing Up Archives - Soft In Hard Places

Evanescent

LisaPullenKent — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 04:46:05 +0000

When I was growing up we moved a lot, big moves crisscrossing the country. Perpetually the new kid, I never stayed long enough to feel like I fit in. Then, I married a man whose childhood was the opposite of … Continue reading →

The post Evanescent appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Rockin’ The Socks for World Down Syndrome Day

LisaPullenKent — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 17:00:36 +0000

This simple, profound truth alights on me continuously in her presence: "What's really important is right in front of you. Stop rushing past and see it. Stop running on adrenaline and feel it. Stop drowning it out and listen." Continue reading →

The post Rockin’ The Socks for World Down Syndrome Day appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Depth of Field

LisaPullenKent — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 00:05:09 +0000

It’s a gorgeous spring day on our 22 acres outside Fulton, a brocade of rolling green set against a periwinkle sky. It’s where I come to breathe. Today all four kids, their families, plus my dad and sister visiting from … Continue reading →

The post Depth of Field appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Coming Home

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:29:10 +0000

The night is a pleasant 68 degrees, but heat emanates from the bright stadium lights, and I’m damp beneath my Rock Bridge High School T-shirt. My boots clink on the aluminum steps as I climb past the student section and … Continue reading →

The post Coming Home appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

A Good Enough Mother

LisaPullenKent — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:27:09 +0000

The words are sharp, a staccato litany of frustrations ricocheting around the room. They’re mine, directed at my misbehaving teenager. Adrenaline shoots through my veins. Careful, I think, sucking in a breath, holding it. The silence echoes loudly. In my … Continue reading →

The post A Good Enough Mother appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Eulogy To My Mother

LisaPullenKent — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 01:23:16 +0000

When she shall die,Take her and cut her out in little stars,And she will make the face of heaven so fineThat all the world will be in love with nightAnd pay no worship to the garish sun. William Shakespeare Patricia … Continue reading →

The post Eulogy To My Mother appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

In Her Image

LisaPullenKent — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 02:00:43 +0000

Sometimes I feel like a motherless childSometimes I feel like a motherless childSometimes I feel like a motherless childA long way from home African-American Spiritual I’m going to lose my mother. It’s an inevitability I never used to think about. … Continue reading →

The post In Her Image appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Confessions Of A Reluctant Stage Mom

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:18:57 +0000

“I’d like to go to brunch,” I say, loading my athletic shoes into my gym bag. A suitcase sits open on the floor. My husband carefully lays out his dry cleaning on the bed for yet another business trip. I … Continue reading →

The post Confessions Of A Reluctant Stage Mom appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

To Believe or Not to Believe

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:26:37 +0000

“Mom, is Santa real?” My youngest shouts this over the top of Katy Perry’s “Roar” playing on the radio as I’m dodging traffic on Providence Road, trying to get to gymnastics. I shouldn’t be surprised that questions of this magnitude … Continue reading →

The post To Believe or Not to Believe appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.

Enough

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 20:05:51 +0000

I actually did it. For once I followed through on a threat. I’ve battled my children for years — no, decades — over the condition of their bedrooms. When the eldest two were teens, I all but conceded the fight. … Continue reading →

The post Enough appeared first on Soft In Hard Places.