Looking at her young face staring back at me from the vintage, monochrome photograph it suddenly struck me how young she had been when her world fell apart. Her story was family folklore, passed down as one of those subjects discussed in hushed tones and only around certain family members. Here she was, though, appearing …
They carried the star up the steep, snow covered hill because the truck’s tires spun and sent the hunk of metal skittering sideways toward the old dirt road. In the end they left the truck in the field and slid the star, made of wood and strands of Christmas lights off the roof. Their breath …
The weekends are often reserved for time with my parents and sometimes my dad takes the kids out to help him with chores. This weekend he wanted to dig up gladiolus bulbs from this summer so he can use them again to plant in his garden next year. My youngest was determined to use the …
I have a photo of my daughter looking at an old, black and white photo of a couple and the woman in the photo is her namesake. The woman is my great grandmother and I’ve heard some funny stories about her over the years but I wish I knew more. One story came from my …
I am going to be a writer today. I am going to write. I am going to make things happen. I am going to – wait for my computer to install updates for 15 minutes. I am going to get breakfast. I am going to notice the living room is a mess. I am going …
“Mama, wanna play with me? You wanna play with me?” Her pleas sounded more like a demand than a request and I knew if I said ‘no’ she would keep asking, demanding and continue to look heartbroken and crestfallen. Each day she follows me around with the same demand – I mean request – so …
Panic set in when money got tight this last year but after a lot of prayer I’ve been learning more about how to save money and reduce expenses. This learning is a long process that is coming in stages. Currently my money saving focus is on groceries and household items. Groceries is one of the …
It’s the end of a very long day and all I can think is: Did I pay attention to them enough today? Did I listen to them? Do they know I love them? Was I too distracted? Too strict? Too overwhelmed with other things that were not important? The answer to some of those questions …
I’m in the kitchen trying to perfect a Ree Drummond recipe but every few moments my oldest is shouting that the cat is on his Lego table knocking pieces off to smack around on the floor or the youngest is holding an empty bowl and asking me when she can have “port top” (pork chop). …
