Tag Archives: parenting

What I’m reading — and loving! — right now: Beautiful Writers by Linda Sivertsen

Posted on September 18, 2022 by scout2011

The book publishing business is kind of a like a mythological beast: sometimes terrifying, sometimes beautiful, always layered. I know from personal experience that the best thing you can do when you love a book is to talk about it–to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abby wambach, Ann Patchett, Beautiful Writers, books, celebrities, creativity, joy, Katherine Scott Crawford, life, Linda Sivertsen, Liz Gilbert, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, Patricia Cornwell, podcasts, reading, stories, Terry McMillan, writers, writing, writing life | Leave a comment

Mother’s Day Recap: Time away + Mom-xiety + You are enough

Posted on May 10, 2021 by scout2011

A few years ago my family started a Mother’s Day tradition of gifting me with a night or weekend at the lake, alone. I laughingly refer to myself as an extroverted introvert, but what is more true is that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alone time, anxiety, are the kids alright, camping, CNF, creative nonfiction, essay, extroverted introvert, friendship, isolation, Katherine Scott Crawford, missing out, moms, Mother's Day, motherhood, mothering, pandemic, parenthood, parenting, recap, time alone, you are enough, you are not alone | Leave a comment

Pandemic Parenting: Sending my kids back to school after 305 days at home

Posted on January 13, 2021 by scout2011

Today is the first day in 305 days that I have been away from both my children. The last time was March 12, 2020, when they went to school for the day before the Covid-19 pandemic changed all our lives … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 305 days, anxiety, back to school, camp counselor, choices, choosing to send kids back to school, CNF, column, columnist, Covid, Covid-19, creative nonfiction, education, elementary school, essay, exhaustion, homeschool, Katherine Scott Crawford, mama, middle school, motherhood, mothering, no relief, online school, pandemic parenting, parenthood, parenting, school room, teacher, teaching, tired, virtual school, young children | 2 Comments

Parenting in a Time of Coronavirus

Posted on March 23, 2020 by scout2011

When I opened my eyes this morning I immediately thought, “Here we go again.” There are many Mondays when I wake up and think this, especially as a parent. Because Mondays mean a new school week, which means waking my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged children, CNF, columnist, coronavirus, Covid-19, creative nonfiction, essay, home school, Katherine Scott Crawford, kids, mama, motherhood, pandemic, parenting, parenting in a time of coronavirus, quarantine, school at home, social distancing, virtual school | Leave a comment

My novel anniversary: Seven years later + a GIVEAWAY

Posted on September 27, 2019 by scout2011

* If you’re looking for information about MountainTop Writers Retreats, click here. And don’t forget the Early Bird Special for our inaugural women’s retreat, Fall MountainTop, runs now through Sept. 30th! Seven years ago today my debut novel was published. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1760s, 7 years old, Adriana Trigiani, anniversary, author, Beverly Swerling, Blue Ridge Mountains, book birthday, Cherokee, colonial period, Darci Hannah, Elise Blackwell, first novel, gratitude, historical adventure, historical fiction, Jack Wolf, Katherine Scott Crawford, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Keowee Valley, literary fiction, memory, mom, novel, novel birthday, parenting, Pat Conroy, Philip Lee Williams, Quincy MacFadden, Quinn and Jack, Revolutionary war, romance, Ron Rash, SC, Southern literature, Tommy Hayes, upcountry, WNC, women's fiction, writer, writing life | Leave a comment

How are we honoring the memories of those lost on September 11th, 2001?

Posted on September 11, 2019 by scout2011

Early this morning in my kitchen, I stood over the makings of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my older daughter’s lunch, strawberry jelly dripping from my knife, and took a deep breath. My God, how much more American … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2001, 9 11, 9/11, Americans, children, CNF, creative nonfiction, essay, honoring the memory, Katherine Scott Crawford, motherhood, never forget, newspaper columnist, oped, opinion, parenting, Patriot's Day, patriotism, personal essay, remembrance, September 11, September 11th, talking about September 11th with kids, United States of America, USA | Leave a comment

I Screwed Up Today (or, Parenthood is Not for Sissies)

Posted on March 12, 2019 by scout2011

Picture this: It is 7:45 a.m., and my children and I are walking into school. My 9 year-old walks two steps ahead, just out of arm’s length and just far enough so that I don’t see the sour expression on … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged children, column, columnist, daughters, essay, essayist, fatherhood, I screwed up, James Spader, Katherine Scott Crawford, kids, life, mama, mamahood, mother, motherhood, newspaper, parenthood, parenting, parenting is not for sissies, Pretty in Pink, puberty, raising kids, respect, sensitive, sensory, Steff | 4 Comments

Some initial thoughts: the recent decisions of the special session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church

Posted on February 26, 2019 by scout2011

If I were still writing my newspaper column, I’d be writing, this week, about the special session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which met over the past several days to make decisions about church doctrine regarding … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christian, Christianity, church, church doctrine, clergy, CNF, columnist, creative nonfiction, essay, essayist, faith, family, friendship, gay, General Conference, God, homosexuality, hope, human sexuality, Jesus, Katherine Scott Crawford, layperson, lesbian, LGBT, life, love, Methodism, One Church Plan, opinion, parenting, religion, sacred worth, same-sex weddings, Simple Plan, special session, St. Louis, thoughts, Traditional Plan, United Methodist, way forward | 8 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day from my family to yours! (Plus a column.)

Posted on February 14, 2019 by scout2011

Happy Valentine’s Day from my family to yours! Even though it’s not a real holiday, and the historical origins are dicey (and possibly a bit murderous). Still. This day reminds us that, really, all we need is love. Today I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amwriting, children, CNF, columnist, creative nonfiction, essay, essayist, freelance, Katherine Scott Crawford, kids, life, love, middle school, newspaper column, parenting, romance, Valentine's Day, writer | Leave a comment

New column: “Make 2019 the year of ‘come as you are'”

Posted on January 17, 2019 by scout2011

If we wait until we’re perfect, we will never do anything. This is a tough lesson to learn–one I struggle with daily. So: that, life, being awkward, scared, and hopeful, and more, in my newest newspaper column. I sure hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2019, anxiety, Asheville Citizen-Times, awkward, CNF, column, columnist, come as you are, creative nonfiction, essay, essayist, goals, Greenville News, imperfection, Katherine Scott Crawford, life, new year, newspaper, op ed, opinion, parenthood, parenting, perfection, scared, start before you're ready, thoughts | Leave a comment