Back to Allen - Lisa Allen | Mom, Blogger, Author, Freelance Writer, Cupcake Baker

So this is what let down feels like. Last Saturday I stood at a podium and shared my shame with 300 strangers and a handful of friends. I read a piece that’s been not quite 43 years in the making; a piece about my experience as my mother’s daughter and how she shaped me as [...]

This is the piece I read at the Kansas City Listen to Your Mother show in Kansas City. I’ve never published this before, and it’s one that I’ve debated about sharing.  But thanks to the wonders of technology, there will be a YouTube video of me reading the piece so I’m also sharing it here. [...]

Same trailer, different park. I actually said those words to a friend yesterday during lunch. I wish they were mine; they sound like mine, I think. They're really just a catchy bit of a country song.  I said those words because we were talking about the heavy stuff of life, and–as women tend to do–she [...]

I know what you're going to see when you come to Unity Temple on the Plaza next Saturday. You're going to see a gorgeous gathering space, replete with stained glass and carved wood. You're going to sit in a plush, decidedly Glamour Shot inspired mauve theater seat and turn your attention to the focal point [...]

Well hello, May. I'm happy to see you. April whizzed by so quickly it's little more than a blur, and was filled with the usual routine of work and kids but it was also a month of looking at my word–embrace–with new eyes. As I stop and think about it, I'm happy at how I [...]

At first glance it seems the same.  Pretty much. About this time last year I was thinking too much about Mother's Day. Getting wrapped up in school events and dreading the thought of the pull between restless kids and working at home during summer break and  juggling deadlines and profiles and not making time to [...]

It's been another heavy few days here. But this week it isn't destruction on a national scale that's keeping our attention; it's matters of the heart, the voices in our heads and the idea of being 'just right' for everyone else. I told you. Heavy. My girl came to me in tears on Sunday morning, [...]

Good isn't a word I've used often this week.  I've been too wrapped up in the events of the world, the pain and the fear and the heartbreak that's been happening around my little bubble in the beige. I've also been nursing my own wounds, being a girl over a boy and stressing out about [...]

I'm pissed at myself because I can't turn off the TV.  I want to. I want to shut out the events of this week, pretend that it's a world and a lifetime away instead of here.  No, I'm not in Boston. I didn't run in the marathon and I don't think I know anyone who [...]

Everywhere and nowhere. My favorite place to be. Everywhere bridges old and new Comfort and excitement Memory and wanderlust. Dad's home in the quiet My own place in the beige Any corner booth my kids dive into Every conversation with a friend. Nowhere lingers in the corners Always there. Always waiting. Painfully patient. Strongest when [...]