sluiternationbizcardpicKatie Sluiter (pronounced Sly-ter) lives in Zeeland, Michigan. She is a wife, mom, teacher and writer who holds a Master’s Degree in English Education and works as a junior high school English instructor, adjunct college English instructor, and an advocate for the Common Core State Standards with the Michigan Education Association. Her writing has been featured on Borderless News and Views, BonBon Break, the Imagine Toys blog, and BlogHer. She was interviewed for TODAY MOMS in 2013. She is also a contributing author to the book Three Minus One: Stories of Parents’ Love and Loss (2014).

Her essay, “A Season of Loss,” explores the ebb and flow of friends into and out of her life as a woman. Right now is, as the title implies, a season of friendship loss, but not because of fights or misunderstandings. Friends move at different speeds in their pursuit of careers and motherhood and friendships tend to be the thing to be left behind.

Follow Katie at her blog, Sluiter Nation, where she writes about her life as a mother, wife, and teacher. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.