Category: The Honest Ruth

They really should have warned us. When my husband and I were considering starting a family, someone should have pulled us aside and, with fear and trembling, told us how the birth of a child would change our Christmas season forever. The day you welcome that bundle of joy, your fate is sealed. You are … Continued

The first rainbow was for my mom.  It was a perfect double rainbow, burning brightly, spanning the sea, with the Alaskan coast in the distance.  She saw it while on a cruise with my dad, one year after her diagnosis: Stage 4 breast cancer. One year – of painful treatments and difficult decisions and a scramble … Continued

In a recent blog post, a young friend of mine wrote about realizing her dream of playing professional sports after college and about the future day when that career will come to an end.   She talked about “using her gift” and “doing the only thing at which she excelled.” Reading between the lines, it would … Continued

A friend is in labor as I write this. She’s had a hard fight for this little boy, her fourth baby. She has preeclampsia, a condition that threatens her life (it will continue to until she delivers and maybe beyond) and makes pregnancy even more painful and difficult. She has been on bedrest for a … Continued

Blessed are the Sunday School teachers, especially those who work with preschoolers: for when they have answered 5,000 questions and fed everyone a snack, they shall emerge with great joy and sticky hands. My small church’s preschool Sunday School leader, Abigail, is on maternity leave and I, even I, am filling in for her. In … Continued

Confession time: We put up the cheater Christmas tree this year. You know the one. The prelit, teeny-tiny tree that barely supports five ornaments and takes .75 seconds to set up. Thing is, with four children ages 6 and younger, church activities, school parties and three family Christmases to attend, the big tree and the … Continued

So far in our small family’s life, we haven’t set a lot of holiday traditions. Each year, we’ve had a little Thanksgiving meal of sorts, though usually without the turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce, none of which are included in my children’s rigorous chicken-and-pizza diet.  We’ve managed to get a tree set up each Christmas … Continued

Some people think the more children you have, the more you know about parenting. Actually, the more children you have, the more you know you know nothing about parenting. Thanks to my four children, I am fully aware of my cluelessness as a parent and my complete reliance on grace from my children and from … Continued

Lubbock needs new welcome signs. It’s not enough to inform drivers they are entering Lubbock. They don’t just need to know our population size as they speed into town. They must be warned when they enter our city, they also enter the Lubbock Standard Time Zone. Here’s the thing: Lubbock runs 10 minutes late. Here’s … Continued

Dear Crayola: On behalf of myself and all parents of small children, thank you for making nontoxic, washable art products. Your invention is outmatched only by your foresight. It’s like you knew my son Henry, age 1, would walk into the house one day last month eating a stick of sidewalk chalk as if it … Continued

I admit it: I use my kids for material. I do my best to make note of the funny things they say so I can repeat them afterwards to an audience of doting family members and vaguely interested friends. “We turned Henry’s car seat around this week. He spent the whole first ride yelling one-word … Continued