Daughter Archives - Soft In Hard Places

Just Breathe

LisaPullenKent — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 19:47:33 +0000

Re-posted from March 6, 2014 “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart.I am, I am, I am.” Sylvia Plath There’s a stillness that descends on the hospital late at night, softening the harshness … Continue reading →

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Swallowed in Sorrow

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 31 May 2017 00:12:14 +0000

In the hush of the hotel room I hear cars rushing by on the busy interstate. Above the hum of the fan, a far-off siren rises and recedes. It’s late. My teenage daughters make their cozy bed on the pullout … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Becoming

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 22:52:21 +0000

I love teenagers. I do. Everything about them: the awkward, the self-conscious, even the angry bits. I’m especially intrigued by the way they shed their childhood like a skin and emerge a newer, older version of themselves. I even kind … Continue reading →

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And Miles To Go Before I Sleep

LisaPullenKent — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 03:40:36 +0000

It comes in five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, defeat. I mean, acceptance. The stages aren’t always in that order and some resurface frequently. Like bargaining. Especially bargaining. We all know one should never negotiate with terrorists, even if they are tiny. Continue reading →

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Big Rocks

LisaPullenKent — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:18:55 +0000

For a year now, I’ve intended to write about turning 50––a contemplative, insightful piece extolling the wisdom gained from living for half a century, but I ran out of time. In a few days I’ll be 51. Gone the way … Continue reading →

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Through Grammy’s Eyes: A Birth Story

LisaPullenKent — Thu, 29 May 2014 22:13:42 +0000

Every birth has a story, ripe for the telling, though the tale varies with the perspective of the teller. The closest view belongs to the mother; it is her body, after all, that houses the new life, she who evicts … Continue reading →

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