Essays

While some talk of pandemic pivots, I’ve likened my journey to a pirouette. When I was young, I loved to run across random facts about famous people. Among my favorite trivia was learning what age they started the career that made them a household name. For example, Grandma Moses started painting in earnest at 78, … Continued

I believe soulmates to be a realistic concept, simply in a broader sense than being the one person you are meant to marry, and oftentimes, they seem to come when you least expect it. When people refer to “soulmates,” they often times define them in a romantic sense; one, singular person who was put on … Continued

Our past, every bit of it good and bad, makes us who we are today. It makes us appreciate where we are now. I was driving home from work one-day last month when I saw something that made me stop and turn my car around. It was a lemonade stand with three little girls seated … Continued

Their intelligence and truth shimmer in the air around them like fairy godmothers. Have you ever noticed how a woman becomes more inspiring as she ages? Almost as if wisdom and courage seep into her as her hair turns grey. Silver drowns the years of female expectations strand by strand. Suddenly she no longer cares … Continued

As I got ready for my first date with Bruce, I was so excited I couldn’t even get my lipstick on straight or figure out what to wear. Okay, my white slacks with the pink top always looks good. I had no idea how this first date would totally change my life. I’d met him … Continued

I credit Mrs. Jones. She planted the seed. She made me believe I could be a writer. I remember coming into my second-grade classroom, excited and proud to show my lovely teacher a story I had written over the weekend. Though, looking back now, I’m not entirely certain the story was my original idea. In all fairness, … Continued

Bold and beautiful, soft and pastel – everywhere I turned there were terraces of color. By all accounts, I should have green blood flowing through my veins, or at least, a green stain on my thumb. Mom’s family had been farmers; flowers were incidental, but vegetables were plentiful. Dad’s family also filled the kitchen with … Continued

I hope we will aspire to become, once again, friendly Americans and I hope we will give one another the benefit of the doubt. Whenever a shift in society or culture occurs, folks don’t have a paradigm to follow and find adoption of a new normal challenging. The year of 2020 isn’t the first year … Continued

The metamorphic possibilities within our souls are endless. It creeps in like a bank of fog just off the coast, Sandburg’s “Little Cat Feet,” and it watches us silently for a time before it moves on. It’s like that, this stealthy virus, in the way it sneaks upon us, but otherwise, it’s evermore beastly than … Continued

In that garden, she planted the seeds of self-confidenceand self-love in my soul. Her flower garden was always lovely, the envy of her pristine neighborhood. My paternal grandmother could grow anything it seemed, and when we would visit her in southern Georgia, her backyard was a haven for grandchildren and their imaginations.  It was where … Continued

In addition to providing a safe and accessible home for my belongings, my bag told the world who I was. Okay, I admit it. I’m a bag lady. No, I’m not a homeless woman roaming the city with all of my worldly possessions packed into an assortment of plastic bags. I’m fortunate to have a … Continued