A few years back, a well-intentioned therapist probing my history for signposts tried to steer me down the Mother Track. It must be routine and fruitful territory in her line of work. It was high on her list of questions, and she seemed mildly surprised by my responses. “Did you resent your mother when you […]
An alluring spring dawn had announced itself through the slats in the window blinds long before we raised our heads from the pillows simultaneously and locked eyes. No words were exchanged, but the message was clear. Keats would have observed us as two souls with but a single thought: It was too early to get […]
At six and four, Buddy and Sis are old enough now to enjoy the occasional overnight visit at my house. These visits linger in memory with certain central “themes”. Oh, yes, I might think, looking back, that’s the time we made peanut butter cookies the first time. Or, that was the time Buddy first dove […]
These are my Easter shoes. Pretty spectacular, yes? They tend to attract a lot of comments when I wear them, at least once every Easter season. But these aren’t just fabulous footwear. These are shoes with a story. In early fall of 2012, our family faced news for which there is no preparation. My beautiful […]
The status of grandmother was bestowed on me six years ago last month. Oddly, it didn’t come with a manual. Though it is surely one of life’s richest blessings, I’m still trying to figure out how to do it. There must be others out there who, like me, feel so different from grandmothers of earlier […]
At first there was church, of course, but there had always been church, and probably always will be. Then there was therapy, some of it encouragingly productive, though one shouldn’t dispense stars for service well rendered on such things, like online restaurant reviews. There was always walking, more walking, no shortage of places to walk. […]
Children change so quickly, don’t they? It’s an amazing thing to watch. And, of course, it’s so much easier to discern these charming progress points when they aren’t your immediate progeny. Kind of like watching a new house going up as you drive by occasionally: Oh, Look! The chimney is up! Gosh, that was fast! […]
First, close the door as carefully as possible. Now, let’s survey the aftermath. There is a dinosaur sticker clinging to the hardwood floor near the entry hallway, torn, folded in half, but sticking nonetheless. A single, royal purple crayon perches alone and forlorn, probably hiding for its life, between a couple of couch cushions. Light […]
You don’t have to be staring down the neon pantheon of Lower Broadway in Nashville to know one incontrovertible fact. America’s Music City (as country’s most powerful radio station calls it) is a funky, bizarre place. And whether you love country or Anything Else, whether you know where to get original hot chicken or couldn’t […]
It seemed like a such a good idea at the time. So why was I standing in the aisle at Target, a genuinely clenched knot in my stomach, on the verge of panic? This was a terrible, terrible mistake. I must be an idiot. How can I get out of here without nuclear disaster? The […]