Broken Hearts Indeed Do Crack, Part IV

To see parts I, II, and III of this story, click here, here, and here. Caroline refused to look back at Adam. She didn’t need to see the pain written across his face, the capable hand clutched to his chest, or his head resting against the stone wall. The slouch of his shoulders or even…

Read More

Sixteen (Wild and Precious)

Dear Zoe and Dear Talia, Today of all days I feel as though I should address you individually. You are, after all, each celebrating a sixteenth birthday. But as usual, this letter is going to be to the both of you because—let’s be honest—you’re both very much alike and maybe, I’m just a little bit…

Read More

The One About the Reindeer

This post isn’t for the wee little beasts, unless you want to answer a few questions that deal with a somewhat more mature subject matter. Two Christmases ago, we bought Zoe and Talia a pair of swants. University of Michigan-themed swants to be exact. What are swants exactly? Pants made of sweater material. Apparently these…

Read More

Even More Words for the New Year 3

This past year, I tried to look at the positive and keep this quote in the back of my mind: When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. ~Helen Keller 2017 was…

Read More

Thirteen Reasons

Thirteen reasons I love you, Aaron (to celebrate your thirteenth birthday, of course!): Your red hair. Your patience with your little sister (although these days, that patience sometimes wanes). Your dedication to the feline and canine friends that live with us. Your ability to put on paper something you envision. Your wiry arms that still…

Read More

Teaching Me

Insomnia stinks. Those of you who suffer from it know I speak the truth. I’ve suffered two episodes of insomnia in the past week: the first came just about a week ago, and the second occurred last Thursday night. While I’m not entirely sure of its cause, I think I had trouble sleeping because I…

Read More

Thankful

On days when I’m not sure what to write, I sometimes go back to all the words I’ve written (here or on the blog) and see what life was like a year, two years, or even more, ago. I checked to see what was happening around June 8/9 last year; thankfully, I can say, “Not…

Read More

Fear

“I’m scared.” Her eyes opened wide and the tears, which had been perched on the edge of her lower lid, made their escape. Her flushed cheeks glistened with the wetness. I rubbed her back, my hand making slow circles against her cotton shirt. “I know you are,” I said. “But it will pass.” I stopped…

Read More

Doing Favors

Over the past five years, I’ve immersed myself in the writing world as much as I can. If I didn’t have kids and a day job (that doesn’t involve writing), I’m sure I’d be able to surround myself with even more of the writing life. But I do what I can. And part of that…

Read More

At Home

The cancer hadn’t devoured Ray yet, but with each rising of the sun, Sam knew his father was closer to dying than to living. It was too bad his folks lived over two hours away. Just far enough that Sam couldn’t get there as much as he would have liked. After all, he had two…

Read More