magic balm

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family

There is no clock in my room at the summer house, not even an electrical outlet. It’s one of those undetermined witching hours between midnight and dawn.  I am drowsy but not asleep, struggling with the wicked combination of jet lag and a brain that has the propensity...

let her doodle

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family, writing + creativity

she doodles everywhere. faces and shapes and lines. simple and complex. fantastical, nonsensical free flow and elaborate, deliberate worlds. on letters, and envelopes, and the back of her sisters advent calendar. on the clipboard attached to the wall above my desk. on...

a mama’s heart.

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family

I have a mama’s heart. It may have something to do with the two girls who lie now in their rooms just down the hall from where I sit tonight pecking away on my keyboard. The older, stuffy nose and red swollen eye be damned, is stealing a last few moments lost in...

art is always real

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family, writing + creativity

We were in Julie’s room one night, my eldest daughter and I.  I wanted to show her how the canvas painting she had carefully labored over for Julie’s Christmas gift was framed and hung on the wall. I said, gazing at her masterpiece with no small amount of motherly...

wholeness

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family

I’m on my way to bed, but I leave the hall light on for a moment to tiptoe into her room.  Every night I do this right before bed, sneak into their rooms one last time, my light kiss on the head a prayer to the universe to keep them always safe. On impulse, this...

teachable moments

by Jeanette LeBlanc | | Mothering + Family

Teachable moments.  As parents we know to look out for those fleeting instances where life and learning come together effortlessly.   A trip to the grocery store teaches colors and counting to a toddler, a donation to the food bank brings opportunity to discuss...