Just Because
Vacation Days
Vacation. She smiled when she said the word out loud. Uttered it again into the breeze, tasting the word as it floated back in her direction. Vacation. So much potential in one eight-letter word. Ice cream. Sand. Taffy. Long walks up the hills and down again. Bullfrogs at the pond. Grilling on the patio and…
Read MoreCelebrating Women’s Fiction Day!
UPDATE! Sally S. and Jennifer S. are winners! I’ll contact them via email. Thanks for participating! Welcome to Women’s Fiction Day! In 2019, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) established the day “to celebrate the authors, stories, readers, bookstores, and fans of the women’s fiction genre.” I’m a grateful member of WFWA, and I am…
Read MoreDays Like This
Days like this— after a surgical procedure routine for the surgeon but not for you when your belly is swollen and sore and you’re moving slowly slower than you have in years— are good days to speak to your mom. What other person will let you vent the exact way you need to? What other…
Read MoreApril Challenges (April Love 2021)
April, with its robust arrival of spring, is a good time to challenge myself. A few years ago, I took on a fitness challenge and added in an extra mile of walking each day in April. That lasted throughout the year, and it’s carried over to today—I still try to walk an extra mile when…
Read MoreTaylor Swift-ed
Taylor Swift’s music has appealed to me in the past, and I consider her album Red pivotal in bringing Rewrite the Stars to life (I listened to the album on repeat during the writing of my first draft). While I don’t listen to much of her current work, the twins and I attended a concert of…
Read MoreCat-astrophe
“When you’re ready to put Arnold on a diet,” the vet says, “call me. It can be a process, but it can work.” Arnold is the second of our cats to need some help in terms of dietary needs. The first, Ferdinand, ended up with diabetes, something we couldn’t control. I still remember the toil…
Read MoreFinding That Groove Again
My parents live a half mile from me. This short distance was by design: when we moved them here, we chose the best, close nursing facility so that I’d be able to see them often. And in the days before COVID-19, I visited them every day. Now, I can only see my mom a few…
Read MoreBacked Up
After I had kids, my digestive system changed. Meaning regularity couldn’t be counted upon, and no amount of fruits or vegetables helped. But I wasn’t ready for Metamucil, so I decided to take magnesium instead. It seems to work, and for now, I can’t complain. I’m no longer backed up when it comes to my…
Read MoreSunday Musings
A new website means a new way of doing things. Which isn’t what this habitual person likes to think about. New ways? I might only be in my forties, but honestly, I’ve been set in my standard protocols since I was born. Okay, there might have been that period of time right after the doctor…
Read MoreA Sound Full of Promise and Hope
A drive down the street proves the point: uncharacteristic darkness within businesses and schools and traffic is lighter even at rush hour. The state has shut down. People have been commanded to stay inside their houses, and if they walk outside, they need to keep six feet away from anyone who passes. The only place…
Read More