The Lily Cafe Weekly Highlights – April 17, 2026

At Home

There was no teachers/administrators/staff strike, thank goodness. And of course we got a text at 4 something in the morning on Tuesday letting us know schools would be open in just a few hours. It was unexpectedly stressful on Monday, constantly checking for news and trying to make plans for all possible scenarios. I know one of the contracts is only for 2 years, so, yay, we get to do this again in 2 years?

Even though the kids were, thankfully, in school, this week managed to still be stressful. We had appointments, my daughter has had a crazy amount of homework, and I’ve had to spend a lot of time cutting weeds and overgrown wildflowers. Good thing the weather was nice!

What I’ve Read

This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack was very refreshing after so much SFF. The writer’s conference set in the Bahamas was a fun setup, and I actually really liked the way this installment was framed. It was fun and different from the previous Vacation Mysteries novels. The footnotes went between being useful and irrelevant, so I liked how it felt like there was a balance between their usefulness. I did figure out who had probably done it early on, but I enjoyed unraveling the mystery with Eleanor and her friends.

In progress: The Library of Flowers by L.C. Chu

I am not one for perfume as they tend to trigger my asthma, but I like the idea of it. I’m about halfway through this one, and find myself enjoying this. Lucy is Chinese Canadian, the latest in a long line of gifted daughters, except she doesn’t seem to have the special gift she’s supposed to have as a fifth daughter. The maternal expectations are sky high, and I really feel for her as she tries to figure out her place in the family, loving her prickly mother while finding her own path.

Kids’ Reading Corner

The 6th Grader: I’m not sure if he’s done any reading over the past week. He hasn’t mentioned having to read the third Percy Jackson book, at least. But he’s getting better at chess every day. I guess I can’t get too upset?

The 3rd Grader: She’s still enjoying some Sophie Mouse books from the school library and we’re still reading the Humphrey books at night.

The Kitchen

I haven’t done any non-oven baking this past week. It was just a little too busy.

The Writing Lounge

I’m working through my final read-through. It’s been fun. I’m reading it aloud to myself because, after spending years reading books to my kids, I’ve learned that things sound different when read aloud and it might be a good idea to do that to catch anything that sounds odd.

Featured Posts From the Cafe

After a few lean weeks this was a full one. I shared whether I preferred low or high fantasy, my review for First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston, why I want to read The Library of Flowers by L.C. Chu, and my review for The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen.

Blog Stats and Other Interesting Things

As much fun as this section has been, I’ve decided to retire it for the time being because 1) it’s kind of a pain to do and 2) I’m currently in my “I don’t really care about stats” phase (I cycle back and forth, so this section might return one day).

Featured Blog Post

Each week I aim to share my favorite post of the week. But, as my brain is increasingly cluttered with manuscript-related things and I’m getting increasingly sidetracked by my backyard as it’s gone from dead to wildflowery to I’m worried it’s overgrowing, I’ll be taking a break from this section.

If you would be so kind, one of my best friends is an artist and recently opened her online store. If you like LGBTQ art, take a look: Sunlight & Sky.

See you next week, and thanks for reading!

When You Kill A Spider In Your Daughter’s Room at Eleven PM

“Mom- there’s a bug!” startles you from your slumber.
So, you stumble out the bed, onto your feet, and make your way to the kitchen first, to get your weapon because toilet paper will not do-the guilt seeps through the thin plies of tissue.

Still squinting, you walk resolutely down the hall to her room.
She points to the corner wall as you fumble for more light and notice
the “bug ” is a spider and you see its size, color, shape, and that its legsare long but it’s not a Daddy-Longlegs, and it’s just sitting there

on the wall…in her room, and you, too sleepy to do the catch and release reserved for daytime spiders, apologize for your murderous action as you push the thicker-picker-upper paper towel against the wall where the intruder crouches

and you feel everything is wrong, somehow in the killing of an
innocent, sitting spider, at eleven o clock at night, because
everyone knows, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, and the words rise within,
like an arachnid ghost hovering, reminding you of words
that spiders don’t know and certainly don’t live by.

Besides, spiders are the good guys, you think to yourself,
then it occurs to you that good guys die, too…
and injustice finds its way into the hearts of everyone.

So, you squeeze that paper towel tight making sure all life is
rushed from within- and every innocent rises in your consciousness,
visions of concentration camps, mothers’ wombs,
and the memory from the news of one nine-year-old girl
shot dead while doing homework on her mamma’s bed after school.

And you think how nothing is fair and life is a game of chess
for some, but some are like the spider on the wall
in your daughter’s room at eleven PM.

###

Some of you who have followed my writing may recall this poem. This poem is one I continue to revise. It’s one of my favorite poems that I have penned though somewhat “clunky”. Maybe because it was so vivid as I wrote, and it was still a time when my daughter was alive. It was written in 2015 and published in a local anthology, I shared it also on this blog in 2023. You can find it here: 3rd Annual Anthology

I think poetry is such a powerful memory keeper. If you can capture the essence of a moment in verse you keep it forever.

Keep remembering. Keep writing.

Enthusiastically, Dawn

#nationalpoetrymonth

“The wrinkled pages of the Bible crackled as Mom leafed back to the beginning of Matthew. I had always felt I was conceived from the powers of the universe. Maybe I was chosen to fulfill a divine mission.”
― Diamond Mike Watson

#Bot #Quote #Adoptee #Adoption #Bible #Birth #Conception #Divine #Motherhood

Baby Massage Benefits: बच्चों की मालिश क्यों है जरूरी? जानें कब से शुरू करें मालिश और कौन सा तेल रहेगा सबसे बेस्ट? #BabyMassage #NewbornCare #ParentingTips #ChildHealth #BabyCareIndia #HealthyBaby #Motherhood #InfantSafety #BabyMassageBenefits #NewbornCareTips #BestTimeforBabyMassage #InfantHealth #BabyBoneStrength #शिशुकीमालिशकेफायदे

https://vrnewslive.com/baby-massage-benefits-new-born-care-bone-strength/

Father of 3 shares how he finally understood wife’s ‘mental load’ when she left him alone for 8 days

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/husband-shares-parenting-mental-load-ex1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=husband-shares-parenting-mental-load-ex1

“He’s a baby genius”: 3-month-old stuns mom by perfectly repeating full sentences

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/baby-genius-talking-3-months-ex1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=baby-genius-talking-3-months-ex1

Mom plans entire family vacation but is met with nothing but complaints. Other moms rallied.

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/mom-plans-family-vacation-gets-complaints-ex1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mom-plans-family-vacation-gets-complaints-ex1

Why can't my life be more like this? Well...maybe better things come to you when you're not a human but rather one of the "Sea Creatures". Painted by Wilhelm Kray.

#art #traditionalart #painting #oilpainting #beautifulwoman #beautifulgirl #sea #ocean #mother #motherandchild #children #motherhood

we've just watched BBC Scotland's excellent documentary on artist Caroline Walker, who speaks eloquently about how her paintings are meant to celebrate (and monumentalise) women's work - we loved her exhibition last year at Hepworth Wakefield, but if you unaware of her work this is a great place to start.

#art #feminism #motherhood #care #painting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002slvj