Broken Glasses: A Com3dy of 3rr3s
When I woke up, I reached for my ‘black-flamingo’ glasses and ended up holding two separate halves of one plastic frame.* I knew it would be a bad day. In fact, if I were to label my day, I would …
Category: Philosophy, Life, History
Confusion Reigns: Driving and Talking about Everything
Confusion reigns. I glance into the bottom of my mug and swirl the chamomile tea around. I ignore the brown spots on the bottom. They’re from a basil plant that occupied the cheap white mug with the light blue dots …
Confusion Reigns: Driving and Talking about Everything Read more »
Pitching to Agents, The Throat Punching Aspects, Part 2
As I wrote last week, Maddie and I attended a writing conference where we pitched our books to ten agents. I thought long and hard about how much to share about our personal life, as well as the conference we …
Pitching to Agents, The Throat Punching Aspects, Part 2 Read more »
Pitching Agents: Throat Punches and Better Endings, Part 1
Madeline and I attended a Writer’s Workshop in Minneapolis this weekend and it was probably the most momentous, exhausting, oddly wonderful two days we will spend in quite some time. We’re back home now, settled back into the routine of …
Pitching Agents: Throat Punches and Better Endings, Part 1 Read more »
Van Crashes Into Our Yard
So it’s Friday night and we’re driving home from Northern Virginia. It’s an ordinary night in most ways. Like any other Friday night after we’ve dropped the kids off for a visit with their father. We didn’t go straight home; …
When Red Tape Blocks Neighbors from Helping the Homeless
Kathy Leonard (l), Vicki Davies, Michelle Smeltzer, Pam Williams and Roni Evans led the discussion at Thursday’s thermal shelter meeting.
Photo Credit: Jen Avery
The community I live in, Front Royal, Virginia, has a large problem with homelessness. And with the record cold temperatures we’ve been facing over the past few weeks, the non-profits who work the problem of homelessness as well as several …
When Red Tape Blocks Neighbors from Helping the Homeless Read more »
An Ice Storm that Can’t Kill 10,000 Hours
Ice glistened on the slabs that rose out of the front yard. The driveway was wet but not slippery because we put salt down in the afternoon, but we couldn’t salt the rocks, so they bore the marks of the …
My First Friend on the Mountain
Some people can walk up to other people and with the childlike confidence or perhaps innocence make a new friend. Like when we were in elementary school and landed on the ground after jumping down from the monkey bars. We …
One More Word? Yes, He is My Son
This afternoon, I walked away from the lunch table at my son’s school and a woman’s voice followed me. “Is that your son?” I held the back of my hand up. Was it rude of me? I didn’t care. Not …
Ladybug Invasion
When I was a little girl, I was girly about ladybugs. I loved them. I loved in particular the idea of taking a VW Bug and decorating it like a real-life, breathing, belching personification of all things ladybug. I loved …