It’s approaching 9pm and has been pitch black for an hour at least. It’s still in the 70s, even this late. The air feels relieved after the sunny 90 degrees of the day. It’s September in the midwest. The days are hot and sticky and humid, but there are signs of fall approaching. The sounds of the first leaves rustling on the ground. Even a crispness to the cool air that smells like change. The in between never lasts long enough. And usually I don’t slow down enough to notice. But tonight, I paused. I paused and noticed the air and leaves and change around me. I breathed in the…

This is what happens when you go shopping with a young and hip chick. Fellow parents will likely be able to relate: it’s been a long time since I’ve shopped without a toddler in tow. And while my boys are sweet and frequently flatter me with, “you are beautiful, Mommy” in the dressing room, for some reason, trying on clothes with a toddler who has a hanger in his shirt and is pretending to be a superhero isn’t super relaxing. Even if on the rare occasion I was alone and shopping, never in a million years would I have tried on this romper. And honestly, if my young and hip…