Day two at the water park was a good one. I’m tired and stuffed, and honestly, writing is getting in the way of snuggling up in some jammies and drifting off. Oh, and I feel the itch of dried pool chlorine water. A sudsy shower and heapings of lotion could help. Rest assured, I’ll beContinue reading “Waterlogged and Worn Out”
Category Archives: Writings
I Wanna Float with Somebody
“Can we come back in an hour for the dance party?” The question—coming from pint-sized Evelyn, Oreo ice cream remnants smattered on her face—made me chuckle. After saying sure, I turned to Dave and said, “I expected that question in another ten years.” We’re in LaGrange, Georgia, staying at the Great Wolf Lodge. Just eighteenContinue reading “I Wanna Float with Somebody”
Sliding into Memories
I’m in go mode. Whenever I take a trip, I get the zoomies—oober-cleaning and organizing the house as if preparing for guests and their guests, too. It’s not because I like working that hard or stressing myself to the “n”th degree. No, it’s because returning home to a freshly aired, laundered, white-glove-worthy space is oneContinue reading “Sliding into Memories”
Eggstitential Thoughts
You know that sooooo-eeeeee call pig farmers make, with its high-pitched, trailing, echoey ending? Take that and replace it with “Hey, chicky babies!”—and that’s the cluck-gathering song my neighbor-slash-sister-in-law, Maria, performs daily. It’s sweet and always brings a smile to my face when I’m out roaming the yard. Not to mention, I’m egg-rich because ofContinue reading “Eggstitential Thoughts”
Breaking the Surface
The urge to write mounts like lava beneath the surface—little bubbles and steam venting into my thoughts and feelings. I’ve heeded its call enough to know when the giddiness and the wiser, more shareable thoughts reach their peak and need release. Right now, I’m in land-sculpting mode. With my trusty Gorilla Cart and lifetime-warranty, all-metalContinue reading “Breaking the Surface”
Turning Conflict into Connection
I love conflict—well, as much as one can love it in a healthy, productive way. I’m not into the no-holds-barred, low-blow, tantrum-throwing, “I’m not talking to you” punishment kind. During a recent counseling session, as I was educating a client on positive conflict and how to navigate it, I thought, “Dang, you know your stuff.”Continue reading “Turning Conflict into Connection”
Where Beasts Roam (Book Part 30)
Previous Side by side, our feet resting on the headlights, Kent and I talk. He teaches elementary school in Manitoba, and with the remaining weeks of his summer break, he’s hiking, adventuring, and exploring national parks. Dehydrated from too much solitude, I drink in communion and belonging, savoring the feeling that someone else gets it.Continue reading “Where Beasts Roam (Book Part 30)”
A Lingering Flame (Book Part 29)
Previous Dan came with me on this trip. Not physically, but psychologically. I was attached—obsessed. When the void within me yawned wider than I could bear, I called him. Just to hear his voice. To fan the flame that had long since been ignited. I dated Dan for less than a year during my sophomoreContinue reading “A Lingering Flame (Book Part 29)”
Aged to Perfection
Vulnerability and weakness are scary. I take a selfie of my 43-year-old self and don’t see vibrance—I see time. I see gravity’s sag and pull, like a claymation artist molding my face, tugging at my jowls to sculpt a bulldog’s flaps. I wish it would go away—the spots, the blotches, the redness that makes meContinue reading “Aged to Perfection”
A Light that Still Shines
My older cousin, once my roommate from freshman to junior year of college, sent my brother and me a photo. She’s standing between our mothers’ graves—her mom and mine. It’s a wet, gray day, and she’s placed small bouquets in upturned cups on each headstone. I pinch my phone screen to zoom in. My mom’sContinue reading “A Light that Still Shines”
Going On 40 