Segullah

LDS women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

“Let’s Give It Up For Wayne!”

Several weeks ago I found myself standing in front of a crowded auditorium, speaking to hundreds of eager high school jazz players who had come to hear Wayne Bergeron, a Grammy-award-winning jazz trumpet player, instruct them. It was my job to introduce Wayne and to “pump up” the audience. “You know that I’m just a [...]

It’s a Miracle…

Miracle Max: Have fun storming the castle!
Valerie: Do you think it will work?
Miracle Max: It would take a miracle…
As a scientist, I’m automatically skeptical of anything with the word “miracle” in it:  miracle cure, miracle weight loss, miracle hair restoration, etc.  Usually if something claims to be a “miracle” there is some catch – [...]

Sisterly Love

When I was a little girl I thought one of the happiest sounds I’d ever heard was my mother laughing with her six sisters. They’d stand around my grandmother’s kitchen, washing the dishes and putting away the Christmas dinner leftovers, laughing so loudly they sounded like the kookaburras that cackled outside my window every morning. [...]

What the Little Old Lady Said

I was so busy corralling my children down the grocery store aisle that I almost ran into the old woman in front of us. Four children under age five made us quite a spectacle in the big city where we lived. She smiled at us and patted my arm. “Treasure every moment, dear. [...]

The Witching Hour

Today’s guest post is from Jenny, who lives on the east coast with her husband and five terrific kids. Her children say: “she cooks good food, and takes too many pictures.” She likes to eat food that other people cook (preferably people in restaurants), take pictures, write, shop, spend time with family and to be [...]

The Divorce: The Rest of the Story

Nan was gracious enough to guest post about divorce last week and now she’s written a follow-up post to answer some of the questions about her experience. She’ll be reading and answering your questions in the comments over the next few days. Thanks Nan!
It was Christmas Eve and the last of my children had [...]

Great Expectations

“I’ve got the greatest gift for you!” my husband tells our daughter. I shoot a glare at him, and if looks could kill, I’d be spending the holidays in the slammer.
Usually we both subscribe to the Marjorie Hinckley school of thought, where low expectations are the key to happiness. At Christmas time, however, we [...]

Applause

So the other day my friend, Meredith and I were riding the bus home after picking up our four-year-olds from pre-K. In fact I think we had our four-year-olds and a couple of other people’s four year-olds. Not an uncommon occurrence. The 15 minute commute is often spent making sure the seating arrangements are fair [...]

The Divorce

Nan McCulloch lives in Draper with her husband, who has made all her dreams come true. She is a sometimes actor and theater-goer and has been published in Irreantum, Dialogue and Sunstone. She is pleased to be able to contribute to Segullah.
We separated just before Christmas 1980. We told the children living [...]

Book of Miracles

I worried about Stefan almost constantly.
The spring he turned 14 was a lonely one. His friends from school were busy and distant; the Teachers in his quorum were polite but not inclusive. The happy-go-lucky kid I’d known began to anger easily and his jokes gained a bitter edge.
A wise friend told me to pray that [...]

Flu’s Blues

It started with a few coughs and a sniffly nose. Within hours my son was shivering under a blanket on the couch. Body aches, headache, a raging fever that lasted for three days, and hacking, coughing and lots of whining followed. And that’s how the swine flu (excuse me, the H1N1 virus) arrived at our [...]

To Sleep. Perchance.

I just settled into my office chair to write this blog post. It is 10:52 p.m. I realize that I need to get up by 6:45 to get my oldest son off to Jr. High, but with an out-of-town husband and a long day of kid-shuttling, laundry-folding, assignment-grading, journal-editing and potty-training (yes, I [...]

To thine own self be true (but you might be less happy)

I recently read the following article. It said that American women are becoming less happy, while American men are becoming happier. They suggested it was due to women taking on more roles outside of the home. Stating that women are increasingly disconnected and distracted, and as they get busier they have less time for the various parts of [...]

Art of Raising Children

Pieta moments
I wake up to a small sound at midnight, my Miss Clavell-like mother sensors detecting something is not right. There it is again–a soft sniffle, a low moan. Is someone crying? I shuffle into the hallway, squinting from the scant hour of sleep and still half in my dream.
Maddy is crying–a soft, forlorn sob [...]

Spiritual Resiliency

Everyone in our ward adored Brother Brown.* His countenance radiated light and goodness; his testimony was firm, sincere, and powerful. He drew us in droves to his gospel doctrine class and then, as a loving priests quorum adviser, he shaped and molded hard-edged teenage boys into men. He was a skilled and busy physician, the [...]

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