Genevieve C. West

WE'VE MOVED! Please visit us at our new home: GenevieveWest.me Three year old Kaylie wanted to go through the ocean creatures cards today. I read the fun facts off the backs of each card she handed me as she introduced the starfish to the octopus.  When she handed me the " Narwhal " card to read, I remembered a conversation I'd had with my friend Linda about them. I wanted her to know I was thinking of her, so I posted this  photo on Facebook , which received these  comments : "And they are not mythical!" -Tammy "No, they're real!" -Christy It was only after reading these comments on the photo that I remembered Linda saying that many people don't believe her when she says that they really do exist.  My other two Facebook friends have obviously run into the same skepticism. But Kaylie believed me without question. At her age, even the mundane is magical and new and amazing to her! ...

WE'VE MOVED! Please visit us at our new home: GenevieveWest.me Is There Spinach In My Teeth? I'm at the bar, smiling, talking, laughing with my BFFs. I'm wearing my sexy red lipstick and I give that hot guy my best smile. Wait. Why did he just look like he smelled a fart and walk away?? ..... Read more @  Signature26.com

WE'VE MOVED! Please visit us at our new home: GenevieveWest.me I am SO not the perfect parent. My kids will attest to that. This week, I read a facebook post complaining about moms complaining on facebook  (Say that 10 times fast). I'm sure that it wasn't specifically directed at me because I'm so inconsequential in the life of this person. But it kicked me in the gut anyway. I started wondering if I'm a bad mom.  I was overcome with guilt every time my kids asked me to "look, mom!" or "will you?" But not in a good, fruitful way.  Not in the way I re-start paying attention, soaking in every detail of each one of my babies after reading a story like Ronan's .  Even with a more-than-usual work load of writing commitments looming over me, a new workshop presentation just days away, a sink full of dishes , and a mountain of laundry , and only an accumulative of 8 hours sleep the last two days, I made sure the kids at

WE'VE MOVED! Please visit us at our new home: GenevieveWest.me For Mother's Day I wrote about some circumstances that might make Mother's Day a painful day for many women. But I haven't forgotten about you, Dads. Maybe your own excellent father has passed away and you miss him acutely. Maybe Dad wasn't such a great guy and his passing has robbed you of the hope of reconciliation. Maybe you're a father who's son is estranged, or maybe you're the estranged son. Maybe you've lost a child  or experienced a  miscarriage , or  abortion . Maybe you're ignored as others ask, "How is she? " You feel the pain differently, but it's no less than hers. That gaping hole in your heart, you'd never wish upon another. I don't pretend to know why God allows terrible things to happen. All I know is that He is a loving Father who loved you so much that He didn't even spare His only Son's life in order to