As a mom of three young kids (Nathan, 7, Emma, 6, and Lilly, 1), stepmother to Bruce (who blows through town occasionally) and wife to Barry (who can’t fix anything), I know all about things breaking. In fact, that’s the one thing we’re good at. Breaking things, watching things break, having our spirit broken by all the breakage.

We bought our house four years ago and spend so much time just paying the mortgage that having things fixed is sort of like planning that dream vacation to Hawaii. A great dream, but a dream nonetheless.

Most people out there are struggling right now, whether they have young kids, big kids, older parents, or needy friends. I’m hoping to shed some light and humor on the chaotic life of home, housewreckage, and family. Not only am I a mom to people but also to this great big windowed fortress we live in, with all its aches and pains.

I come to HomeTips after having plays produced, fiction and non-fiction published in anthologies and magazines, 300 how-to articles on the Web, as well as having finished a book about the frantic (and funny) years of motherhood called “Somebody’s Always Hungry.”

In all of my writing there is a theme—that we’re all walking around bewildered, wondering how things work, why things break, how to maintain that sense of humor when water is gushing in your face from a broken pipe while also wondering what you’re going to make for dinner. We are never separate from the wreckage, so Don (Head HomeTips Honcho) thought my posts might encourage readers to pull up a raft and float downstream together. Sip some lemonade and enjoy the wreckage. Hope to see you.—Juliet Johnson