House on the Rock

The mechanized whir of a coffee bean grinder roared through the Starbucks lounge as my friend leaned in, eyes watery and full of compassion. Her hands encircled a steaming espresso, her voice barely above a… Read more

Welcome to friendship in your late twenties — the roaring, soaring, tears-pouring twenties. It seems the easy days of community we created in college are behind us. Walking with each other through hard tests and… Read more

Mom, I wanted to write to tell you that I’m a mom now, too. And I never thought I would have to walk this journey without you, but it’s happening — it’s here. He’s here.… Read more

I was struck this year by the bookends of life. In the past fifteen months, I have watched my mom’s final breaths on this earth while anxiously awaiting my son’s first. I’ve drawn up the… Read more

Of all the lyrics on my 20-hour labor playlist, there’s a line from a Hillary Scott song that rings most resonant in my mind — Sometimes I gotta stop, remember that You’re God and I… Read more

It was a blustery Upland February in 2018. Little college-freshman Cali sat in the padded dorm chair of Bergwall Hall desperate to process everything that had just happened on a life-changing study abroad excursion throughout… Read more

Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind of candlelight services, peanut butter kiss cookies, and sweet together time as a family. While it was technically our second Christmas without Mom, in some ways it… Read more

Mom,I can’t believe this week marks one year since you went home.I still resist the desperate urge to call you on the phone.Except we both know I’d never actually call,because you hated phone calls more… Read more