Meg Matenaer

My husband looked out onto our deck with a set jaw. “I want to see cardinals out there.” We live three minutes down the hill from the police and fire department. Fire engines and sirens daily roar past us. Which you think would be a nuisance, but as a mom of six I deeply appreciate…

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited for the holidays. This year has been a doozy. I can’t wait to start shopping, wrapping, decorating, and baking in anticipation of jollier times to come. In that vein, I wanted to share with you a few gifts ideas that came to mind, some of…

NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month–is a marathon sprint of writing, with the goal of penning fifty thousand glorious words in a month. In 2017 I attempted the challenge by myself and failed, having only gotten halfway through. This time around, I am so fortunate to have a group of four other writer friends who are doing…

I estimate that I’m at least five years behind in pop culture. I expect that gap to grow each year. I just watched Hamilton a few days ago. Although, I haven’t finished it yet–don’t tell me what happens!  When the show began, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew vaguely that it was about…

I’m writing this blog post in an airy cafe on a beautiful sunny morning. Sipping my cappuccino, I can gaze out the window in that dramatic way writers do when they’re searching for just the right word. All of this has been brought to me by my teenager who can babysit. It wasn’t too long…

I’m always looking for ways to get out of work.  In an instant, I can think of a hundred reasons why cleaning out this drawer no one uses is not worth my time. Why not budging until the kitchen counter is spotless is irrational because there are so many more important tasks to get to.…

I wanted to share the story of someone who’s been inspiring my work lately. Her name’s Wilma Rudolph. I first heard of her just a couple of weeks ago when I was helping my first grader with his homework. One of his distance learning assignments was to watch a narration of the children’s book Wilma…

It’s over.  I’m breaking up with my stomach now that quarantine is winding down and summer is starting. It’s time that my stomach and I start seeing other people. I’d like to reconnect with my shorts. And, well, it’d be good for my stomach to see a vegetable or two. I’ll always remember the good…