Today is my dad’s birthday. He would have been 86 years old. He would have been waiting at the house sugaring the kids up when we pulled into the driveway with our college freshman and her Suburban-load of dirty laundry and plastic bins. He would have loved seeing the yearbook picture that his first grandson … Continue reading Filling Up & Letting Go
I’m Listening
How did you learn those really important life lessons growing up? For me some of the best lessons were shared while just tagging along whether it be riding shotgun in Daddy’s pickup truck, grocery shopping with Mama, or trailing slightly behind the older neighborhood kids. Some lessons can only be learned the hard way. … Continue reading I’m Listening
The Retreat
It’s hard for my kids to imagine a world without 24/7 access to social media, cell phones, or their favorite movies at their fingertips. For them, freak-out moments are sparked by a malfunctioning charging cord or a missing remote. I would love to send them back to 1983 and see just how long they could … Continue reading The Retreat
Valentine
Do you remember your first Valentine? Not the homemade, 3rd grade variety, but the my heart sees your heart kind. My first real Valentine was left outside my door on February 14, 1988. I had somehow just always missed out on Valentine’s Day, being the social, free-spirited high school junior that I was; a fact … Continue reading Valentine
Bucket List
I have one big list, but it fills two buckets. In one bucket I carry those aspirations to one day be a mother of the bride or groom, to rock my grandchildren to quiet slumber, and to show the world that gray hair and wrinkles do not stop us from holding hands and kissing in … Continue reading Bucket List
Lucidity
“On the night before she had left Moscow, when Sofia had expressed her distress at what her father wanted her to do, he had attempted to console her with a notion. He had said that our lives are steered by uncertainties, many of which are disruptive or even daunting; but that if we persevere and remain … Continue reading Lucidity
Namesakes
If my grandmother had had her way, my name would have been Allison Beth. Allison is still a question mark to me, but Beth was most certainly a way to carry on her legacy long after Elsie Elizabeth was gone. Yet when it came time to name their daughter, my mom and dad had dreams … Continue reading Namesakes
Red Light
I did the math. Approximately 19.8 years of my life have been spent either pregnant or nursing one of my seven children. I don’t need a Mother of the Year Award to remind me of this incredible feat. I have seven pretty special reminders who make it time best spent. Yet as one might imagine, … Continue reading Red Light
Give Me Away
The number 13 has been among my list of the luckiest numbers. Both my husband, Kip, and I were born on the 13th day of the month, although he entered the world on a Friday, a fact which honestly leads him to feel all the more lucky. Some may disagree. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is indeed the fear of Friday … Continue reading Give Me Away
Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway filled my summer with hours of the finest page turning. The lure to Papa and his stories began a few summers ago when a quite lengthy Hemingway biography found its way into my wheelhouse. There are no small volumes that could fully embrace his life and his legend. My friend, Kate, recalling my … Continue reading Hemingway
Lost & Found
I have lost many things in my life…phone numbers, IDs, keys, earrings, and sunglasses to name just a few. There is a basket in my laundry room solely for the purpose of collecting lost socks. Sadly they pile up on top of the dryer, a basket full of hope and a yearning for purpose to fulfill. … Continue reading Lost & Found
Coin Collector
Last year’s pandemic-driven coin shortage wasn’t the first time coins were in short supply. I am pretty sure the Feds had to spit out some extra nickels and dimes in 1978 when the 5-gallon glass water jug in the corner of my parent’s bedroom brimmed full with shiny Abraham Lincoln’s, Thomas Jefferson’s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, and … Continue reading Coin Collector
Love It Away
I have cancer. These are the words that no one expects to say, well, until they have to. Those flashes in my peripheral vision had once again begun their light show. I was just six days into recovery after a hysterectomy. It wasn’t the best of times. I’d been having flashes for months, but thought the … Continue reading Love It Away
Still Waters
On the first day of my first big-girl job, Nurse Susie, who would later become my mother-in-law, sat down on my empty desk. She adjusted her stethoscope, propped her feet up on the back of an adjacent chair, crossed her arms and asked, “Are you single?” My reply would eventually chart the course for my dinner … Continue reading Still Waters
The Deep
When I was a little girl I loved taking a deep breath and swimming my way down to the bottom of our pool, especially on a sunny day. The sun’s rainbow rays would dance as they pierced the depths of the water to touch my face eight feet below. Below the water I could actually … Continue reading The Deep
Fields of Poppy 