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I’m Not Okay

Knowing that my friends are going through the same things means I always have someone to talk with about it, someone who knows exactly how I’m feeling. On a Tuesday evening last September, I was at my 10-year-old son’s Boy…

Jaybirds at the Beach

So, as soon as the weather breaks, and there is even a hint of summer, I’m digging out the beach umbrella, gathering up a blanket, packing a lunch into a cooler and I’m heading out for a day at the…

Dad’s Work Gloves

After sorting the nails and screws on the top of the bench, a ray of sun burst through the narrow window of the tiny basement room, illuminating the edge of something wedged between the workbench and the wall. Just two…

A Bag Lady without the Bag

The path was stony, littered with manure, and presented many tripping hazards, especially for those of us who were young when Bruce Springsteen was young, which was the whole group. The flight from Cape Town to Kasane was uneventful except…

Corona-cation

The past few weeks have certainly been a way to unwind, slow-down, and clean out, while surely being one of the most stressful situations of our lives. “If I only had more time,” “If I could only catch up on…

The Only Way to Fly

There was a time when flying so petrified me that I could barely step into an airport, even if I was just seeing someone off. I love to go on vacation. My problem is the getting there. I hate to…

Breakfast with my Late Husband

Before David could retire, our church was packed for his funeral. I jerked awake alone in our bed meant for two. Donning my robe, I hurried to the kitchen to make French toast in memory of my late husband David’s…

Front Porch Diaries

When 2020 began, so many people made yearly resolutions for their lives – businesses, relationships, etc. Going back and doing a search for #2020resolutions, I found the overly popular “workout more,” and “eat healthy,” but some of the other more…

Mom in the Mirror

I couldn’t take the same paths my mom traveled because that would mean acknowledging her choices and agreeing with them. I’m thirteen years old, riding in the backseat of my parents’ Chevrolet Celebrity with my sister. We are headed south…

A Grandpa’s Tall Tail

And then one day it happened. I would be tested to see just how great a Grandpa I really was. I wasn’t lucky enough to have had a real relationship with my grandparents. By the time I was born, my…

The Days of Shakespeare

We schemed, we triumphed, we loved hopelessly, all the facets of life as set forth by the Bard. The foam swords are non-negotiable. Discount-store toys from years gone by; they reside in the serious, mission-style umbrella stand in my entryway.…

Revisiting What’s Past

That’s the thing about reading, be it fiction or non-fiction, it flings open a portal into other worlds. On a literary site, Catapult, I read a piece by Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, entitled “In Search of Grandmas.” His essay revolves around his…

The Coronavirus Diaries: March 17, 2020

Yes, I know, given the state of the world right now, lacking pine straw does not EVEN make the top 1000 concerns I last left my house on Friday, March 13, and truly, I’ve been fine, pulling all those weeds,…

Miracles Happen

Finally, we had to face the facts that it just wasn’t going to happen the “old fashioned way” and, now pushing forty, our chances weren’t getting any better. My wife and I spent ten years trying to have our daughter.…

Community Life – Stay Involved and Stay Safe

While it’s important to stay home and follow the CDC’s guidelines for safety – it’s also important to stay connected. While it’s important to stay home and follow the CDC’s guidelines for safety –it’s also important to stay connected. Sasee…

As Cool as Can Be

I surveyed the area again looking for “cute and old” when I realized “the tell.” We were the only ones doing it – holding hands. “They’re so cute. I hope you and I are like that when we get old,”…

Ditch Tinder and Find “The One”

So ask yourself the question: If I can pick one person to be on a team with, would he or she be that one? “So how come you and your husband are still together?” The chit chat around us stopped…

pink floewr

A Tale of Two Weddings

Me? I headed to my favorite thrift shop where I had my pick of a half dozen tuxedos. My kid brother had just gotten out of the Marine Corps, met a girl, and after a three month, whirlwind courtship, decided…

Selecting the Wedding Gown is Just the Beginning

When selecting a wedding gown, a bride normally chooses a design that appeals to her style: what she likes, what she doesn’t, how she wants her guests to see and remember her, how she wants to feel when she looks…