Sitting on a Phone Book
“Can I say a bad word?” At least he asked permission. “If you really have to, go in the bathroom and yell it into the toilet,” I offered...
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Patty Ihm
Mar 5, 20214 min read
No Elderberry Tree
“Mom, why are you crying?” His question came from a place of innocence that I feared was about to fade before my eyes, which could no...
Patty Ihm
Feb 23, 20212 min read
Tie Me to a Tree
The six year old practices every bad word he knows in one long stream, shot directly at my quiet request to put on fresh underwear. Three...
Patty Ihm
Jan 5, 20213 min read
New Garbage
She remembered things differently from what I could recall. Seasoned in some ways, I couldn’t see what was right in front of me. Despite...
Patty Ihm
Sep 26, 20203 min read
Strip Me Bare
Last year, they were probably heard screaming through to the second floor of the clinic, and there were fights…battles…battles that they...
Patty Ihm
Sep 6, 20204 min read
re: Peaches
As we pulled up the long drive to my friend’s house, we were greeted enthusiastically by a little girl, the picture of sunshine, wielding...
Patty Ihm
Jul 28, 20204 min read
Let Me Be Your Lesson
“Everything is either a blessing or a lesson.” Who was it that said that, anyway? Maybe, some things can be both of those at the same...
Patty Ihm
Jun 15, 20202 min read
A Chicken Gets Her Wings
Love, young love, I hope you are well. At least we now both Have a story to tell. —Keaton Henson, “Sarah Minor” I should have known by...
Patty Ihm
Jun 12, 20203 min read
A Piece of Crap
I had a dream that I lost little Gabriel, only he was somehow also Moses. We were at a medical appointment at a hospital. He was with me...
Patty Ihm
Apr 17, 20203 min read
My View from the Back Seat: This Life-Altering Course of Parenting
I would always have someone with me, and I would never be lonely, not ever again. At twenty-four, and I was about to have my first baby....
Patty Ihm
Mar 25, 20204 min read
You Always Did Love the Ocean
It was hard to discern where the brilliant blue sky became the ocean’s choppy waves, where the hope looked more like fear. From his...
Patty Ihm
Feb 24, 20203 min read
Garbage Mom
Monday had a promising start: the sun shone brightly, and I had a few minutes to spare before I would be meeting my longtime friend, so I...
Patty Ihm
Jan 30, 20203 min read
A Hero’s Hand
“Don’t let anyone say that it’s just a game…” A friend mentioned that in just a few weeks, it will be time for pitchers and catchers to...
Patty Ihm
Jan 14, 20203 min read
Fostering Words: Love Isn’t Enough, But At Least It’s Something
As a fresh spring chicken of a foster parent, I was given by one of my dearest friends a candy-pink shirt with the words, “Love is Not...
Patty Ihm
Nov 7, 20193 min read
Snow on the Corn and Other Things that Just Don’t Seem Right
I guess you only get so many chances, at least in this life. Nancy, my favorite chicken, went quietly in the early morning cold of All...
Patty Ihm
Oct 26, 20192 min read
Still Brave: A Birthday Tribute
It’s the eve of your twelfth birthday. The picture in my head may have been a bit different from what I was expecting, but I should have...
Patty Ihm
Jul 29, 20194 min read
Trying to be a Farm Girl
My nine-year-old and a couple of his buddies were loading into our car after baseball practice. Before I had started the engine, he...
Patty Ihm
Apr 18, 20194 min read
The Kindest of Wolves
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding.” –Proverbs 3:5-6 “Shut up, you stupid idiot, or else...
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