It’s been an eventful afternoon. I attended a memorial service for a 19-year-old, something I hope never to do again. But I was there with friends, and we sat together, not speaking much but communing just the same. I sat in my car for a bit afterward, cooling off and breathing deep. When I pulled… Continue reading At the Tire Shop
Category: Life
A Goodbye Too Soon
My friend’s daughter died yesterday. She was a college student. I only met her a few times, but she was beautiful and she was smart and she was full of the joy of life. She had cystic fibrosis. Her lungs stopped working. Lots of CF patients have double lung transplants. Some of them have the… Continue reading A Goodbye Too Soon
A Perfect Gift for Mom
I ran into my friend Beth at the grocery store last May. This was not all that surprising, since we'd both just been at the same rehearsal. We got to stand and talk, which was a treat. Mostly we're like ships passing in the night. Friendly ships, but not ships with a lot of time… Continue reading A Perfect Gift for Mom
Lie Up, and Survive
This is a text exchange I had with a friend last week. Here is what I have learned from this conversation and the bajillion like it I've had in the past: It's not just you. It's never just you. I know Pinterest and Instagram and Sunday mornings at church make it easy to believe… Continue reading Lie Up, and Survive
Backward and Forward
Four years ago today, my mother died. Today is pretty good. Yesterday was pretty bad. Yesterday, I wanted to crawl under my desk, turn off the lights, and shut the door to my office. I didn't. I had a Dairy Queen Blizzard for lunch instead. I got home and waved the babysitter away, and stretched… Continue reading Backward and Forward
Morning People
"Good morning, sunshine!" It was my husband speaking. "Shhhhh," I said. Or "mmmmphh." Or maybe I didn't say anything at all. Words are hard. "It's going to be a nice day!" he said. So loud. Why is he so loud? It was my own fault. The night before, I told him I needed to be… Continue reading Morning People
Watching Headlines
I ran by the grocery store yesterday to get a few things for Memorial Day. We're having a pretty quiet day, but my sister takes our boys to the cemetery for the 21-gun salute every year, and we have breakfast when they come back. I hadn't planned a thing, so I was picking up last-minute… Continue reading Watching Headlines
A Box
Some evenings, I work. I'm not home when the boys get off the bus. I have been hesitant to let them stay on their own. It's not that long until their father gets home from work, but it's long enough. I was talking to a friend about this recently, and I paused in my explanation.… Continue reading A Box
Things I Have Learned from Cake
It was my husband's birthday last week. His favorite dessert that I make is red velvet cake, although rhubarb dream bars and any kind of pie are not to be sneezed at. I usually make the cake sometime around Christmas, but last December I decided a lot of things were less important than my sanity… Continue reading Things I Have Learned from Cake
Never
Paul asked me again when I am taking this picture down. He's asked at intervals for years. He doesn't like the answer, for reasons that escape me. Never. I am never taking it down. It used to be above the fireplace in a frame, but the frame was destroyed in a mysterious accident. I wasn't… Continue reading Never