I was my dad’s namesake. He was George and I was Georgia. He called me, “Georgie Girl.” Dad and I had a lot in common. I’m grateful he encouraged me to become a writer. It all began when I was…

I moved to Myrtle Beach thirty-seven years ago because I fell in love with the area when I visited while in high school. The smell of the ocean enlivens me. But the motion of the ocean is another thing entirely.…

Today, with a GPS in the car and on the phone, getting lost has become, well, a lost art. It can’t even be used as an excuse for being late. When was the last time you heard someone say: Sorry, I…

I couldn’t help but smile as I stirred the pot of chili simmering on the stove, filling my kitchen with warmth and enticing aromas. My mom was right, “Nothing beats the doldrums like a bowl of chili, and it fills…

My husband and I stopped at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago. The house was a pretty, well-maintained colonial–a family home. As we walked up the driveway, I noticed a multitude of flower stakes that dotted hibernating flower…

I was riding bikes with my 4th-grade classmate when she asked me this: “Are your parents divorced?” My face turned 50 shades of red and I nearly flew over the handlebars of my 10-speed bike, but I quickly regained my…

It’s the spring of 2014, and I am returning to work after giving birth to my daughter. I had hoped to stay on maternity leave longer, but I’ve run out of sick days and will already have to teach for…

There was nothing sweeter than the sound of delight in my mom’s voice when she said my name, especially when I might surprise her at work (she was a school custodian until she was eighty) or give her an unexpected…

When I moved to another state, I didn’t realize at the time that I had two advantages which netted results in my love life – tennis and new friendships. In Missouri, I played on the college tennis team, local tournaments,…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…