Life
Are You Out There?
Years ago in graduate school, I discovered the wonder of Dar Williams. All of her songs resonate with me on some level, but the lyrics from one song in particular have stayed in my head for years. That song? “Are You Out There?” In it, Dar questions if someone can hear her and mentions that…
Read MoreAlways a Teacher
Her name is tucked between those of two friends in the acknowledgment section of my debut novel. If you don’t know to look for it, you might miss it. But I know her name is there. Diane Dougherty and I met only once in person over twenty years ago on one of my first visits…
Read MoreLucky Us
Twenty years ago, only a week and a half after 9/11, I made my way to my first ultrasound. Since this was my first pregnancy, and everything had been progressing as it should, my ultrasound had been scheduled for 19 weeks, almost halfway through the pregnancy. Thanks to the events that occurred earlier in September,…
Read MoreTalking to the Animals
When the girls were around six months old (or maybe a bit younger), one of Tim’s fellow graduate students bought them an extra large Pooh Bear. By extra large, I simply mean he outranked them by quite a bit. (Pooh never outweighed them, but he certainly stood taller, since on his back paws, Pooh stands…
Read MoreLessons I Hope They Learned
The girls leave for college today. As in, they might never step foot permanently into this house again. (Sniff.) This day would have occurred last year around this time, but thanks to COVID-19, Zoe and Talia chose (and had no choice at first) to work remotely for their entire first year. As much as I’m…
Read MoreThat Season
It’s that season again: twice a day soccer practices. One at six in the morning, the other in the evening. Which means its the season of morning disruptions. My morning disruption. Aaron is old enough to get himself to practice now, but having another human being up early puts me in a mood. A funk,…
Read MoreIdentity Crisis
One of my personal Gmail accounts has been in existence since January 4, 2005. Since that time, I’ve entered that address when I shop online; I’ve given it to schools, churches, sports teams, and music teachers; it finds its way to contact forms for nonprofits and other organizations I support. And since that time, I’ve…
Read MoreSpeaking of Dog Days of Summer…
Let me preface this post by saying, MY DOG IS ALIVE AND WELL. Imagine this: your dog has died in your home, and you do nothing about it for several hours. What sort of callous and uncaring person does that? Apparently, I do. Because one morning last week, as I crept past the dog lying…
Read MoreVacation 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 MoreMother’s Day
Back in summer 2015, the year Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I blogged just about every day. Sometimes, I go back to those posts to see where we were then, both for general life events and in the diagnosis process. I’m struck by the clinical nature of some of my posts and the raw emotion…
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