Mandy McCarty Harris

writer
awkward middle

Why I Happily Embrace the Awkward Middle

I have a history of the end of summer blues. That late-summer funk can be such a strange in-between place. Is it summer? Is it fall? Is it neither? Is it both? Should we give it a celebrity couple name and let it have an identity all its own? How about Summall? Or Fummer? Yes, […]

Why I Give My Child the Gift of NO

Yesterday my husband and I said NO. NO, we don’t want to play dinosaurs. NO, we don’t want to do play dough. NO, we don’t want to sit in your bedroom floor. NO, we don’t want to blow bubbles on the back porch. NO, we don’t want to paint. NO, we don’t want to read […]

This Is The Good Stuff of Parenting a Preschooler

Parenthood isn’t in the number of weeks I cradle my infant or the months I get to claim her a toddler or the years before she graduates high school. Parenthood isn’t in the rush to create memories or the push to reach certain milestones. It isn’t in the curation of the perfect family outing or […]

Where I Found His Church and My Home

Church didn’t happen this morning. Oh, it happened, but we weren’t there- if you consider the church to be a sanctuary in which you sit for an hour on Sunday mornings. And I do. I found my church 16 years ago as a young mom with a medically involved baby and a husband with boots […]

finding my direction

Finding My Direction By Looking Down

Why all the feet pictures, Mandy? Well, let me tell you. I’m just finding my direction. I’m a long-time and original fan of Friends. Remember The One With Ross’s Wedding? Remember how Joey has to stand on his map to find his way around London? It’s funny, but for some reason, it’s relatable to me. […]

feeling that i'm not enough

My Life Doesn’t Fit in a Box

My entire life I’ve had this little voice in my head that said I need to be all of something and that’s always left me feeling like I’m not enough. Even as a child, I never fit a particular mold. In junior high, I played basketball. Those girls were my people and I look back […]

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say

I’m in a funk today. My heart is heavy for friends facing impossible things. I didn’t sleep well last night and I haven’t felt like doing all the adult things, so I was not sad that today happened to be our 4 year old’s first ever day camp. I dropped her off this morning and […]

Hug Your People

Don’t keep the I Love Yous for special occasions. Don’t save the text until tomorrow. Don’t put off the phone call for another day. Don’t postpone the adventure for another season. Don’t be quick to claim an excuse. Don’t wait for it to be easier. Don’t hesitate when it comes to your nearest and dearest. […]

I Am Enjoying My Summer With No Apologies

Summer isn’t everyone’s cup of tea- iced tea, of course, because it sure is hot out there. Maybe it’s just not your season, and if that’s the case then please do not apologize. Give thanks for air conditioning and go live your best life- autumn will be here soon enough. If summer feels like an […]

this is our home

My Husband Lives Here, too

My husband and I kicked off our married life with a light-hearted disagreement about how to decorate our first home. I had a decorating plan. He had a shot glass collection. My decorating plan did not include his shot glass collection. Barely 20-year-old us had a fun little banter going about why this collection should […]