When he wasn't griping about how late we were, he was griping about my driving. Stone wrecked the truck his senior year of high school and was dependent on me for rides to school in the mornings. We were often late leaving, and I drove fast to make up for it. Stone got better about… Continue reading Growing Pains
I don’t like to admit it, partly because it feels shameful and partly because I was raised not to notice it, much less confess it. I was taught to do exactly the opposite—to cover up weakness by becoming competent. (And if I couldn’t genuinely excel, I learned to lie about it.) As a mother, I… Continue reading Just Who I Need
I was swamped and decided to take the month off. While writing for my blogs and an online women's magazine are normal monthly activities, October was just too darn busy. At first, it felt like a relief to take a break, but after a while, it felt like I don't want to write anymore. In… Continue reading Breaking Free
This is a story about me and my baby, who’s now 22, and the misery we walked through together to find a love connection. It’s a story of our mutual failure, but it’s a story with a happy ending. I lived the miracle. I watched it change me. And then I watched it change my… Continue reading The Prodigal Stone
I don’t want to look at what’s inside the Tupperware at the back of the fridge. But once I brave it, I’m relieved to start the task and be done with the judgment lurking behind the hummus and pimento cheese. There’s no guilt in dumping rotten food. After all, black spotted soup is obviously trash,… Continue reading For Anyone Who Bleats
I read, “Surely God is my help;the Lord is the one who sustains me.Let evil recoil on those who slander me;in your faithfulness destroy them,” Psalm 54:4-5. Wait.Not that last part, God. Not destroy.Redeem my enemy and me. Swallow our strife. Open blind eyes.Like the centurion, who saw Jesus and believed,while at his post,doing business.… Continue reading Seeing
Our “baby” of five kids is just two short weeks away from being 21. It occurs to me that even though he’s living with us temporarily and working, he’s for all intents and purposes grown, though maybe not entirely gone. It also occurs to me that it’s the first time since I became a mother… Continue reading The Kids Are Grown and (Mostly) Gone, so Who Am I and What Do I Do Now?
I’ve discovered a pandemic phenomenon: The Covid-19-10 is a ten pound weight gain that creeps on in quarantine. In my defense, let me say that the fear of not being able to get My Beloved Treats at some point during quarantine had me pack-ratting Dove Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Promises and Moose Munch as if… Continue reading The 10 Truths I Found to Lose 75 Pounds
Where do I begin To tell this tale of love? I thought it was about What I was most proud of, How I'd love you best. I thought you were my pursuit. But the better story is I'm the broken one you choose. I did my duty all those years But missed you all along--… Continue reading Simple Saving Song
“Think, think, think...” (Pooh says, tapping his forehead.) What’s as good for Bears of No Brain at All as it is for Bears Who Fear Their Brain Is Going--or Gone? Using words, thinking, communicating. It's the last day of June, and I haven't posted anything yet. My goal is to write monthly, but I haven't… Continue reading Bears of No Brain at All
Babies and children used to wake me in the middle of the night, and after that, teenagers coming in late, but now getting up for the bathroom does. Once I'm awake, it's hard to get back to sleep. And then there are the unexplained wake up calls, the ones that wake me from sound sleep… Continue reading The Eye
The nest is empty. Our last fledgling is settled into college dorm life and has already slept through his first test, while his mama-bird, blissfully unaware, awoke to her to-do-or-not-to-do list, none of it involving him. I've been preparing Stone his whole life--and myself all year--for when he would be washing his own socks and… Continue reading The Purge
Dear Rock Creek Women Who Pine, I was feeling out of sorts because I hadn't really wanted to come. I didn't want to go to church last Sunday either, and I didn't. I've realized over the last few nights that I haven't been listening to what I've read in the Bible. I've read hurriedly, just… Continue reading Pining Poor
I don’t want to look at what’s inside the Tupperware at the back of the fridge. But once I brave it, I’m relieved to start the task and be done with the judgment lurking behind the hummus and pimento cheese. There’s no guilt in dumping rotten food. After all, black spotted soup is obviously trash,… Continue reading For Anyone Who Bleats
He had been seeing a little boy’s head floating above the door in the hotel room. And they had flown in an airplane they piloted across the mountain to attend Sadie’s wedding in our backyard. Both of these stories gave us something to chuckle about at the reception. Grammy drives a respectable Buick, and there… Continue reading The Second Chance
One True Love 