Category Archives: Writings

As the second night of Grandma and Grandpa’s four-night stay draws to a close, I feel grateful for their presence under our less-than-a-year-old roof. Earlier, while warming up the spinach artichoke dip for chip dipping during front porch sitting, I thought of something I wanted to tell you. Between then and now, I’ve forgotten, likelyContinue reading “Compound Interest”

I spin out like a rudderless ship, gallons of water spilling in from below as my yellow slicker does nothing to break the ocean’s stabbing chill. My security wanes like the moon’s phases, but I position my hand to cast shadow puppets in its flashlight-like glow. At half my size, some carnies won’t let meContinue reading “The Lighthouse”

I miss fall, a good Pacific Northwest fall, and its steep drop to cooler evening temps and crisp mornings. In South Georgia for my first fall, I’m nicknaming it “The Forever Summer.” Without prompting, Evelyn made up a song titled, “I Never Want to See the Sun Again.” Her ode was to colder, darker daysContinue reading “Grandparents Eve”

I awoke to what sounded like multiple cows birthing calves. The sound was high-pitched and odd. The startled-awake feeling, like tons of bricks on my chest mixed with panic, slightly settled, clearing my head and leading me to collect $200; those are cows, silly, that’s the wind. Out of bed and out the front door,Continue reading “Riders on the Storm”

Writing became deprioritized when the Weather Channel took center stage. Seeing the record storm surge levels in Tampa as Hurricane Helene spun its web south of us is concerning. Yesterday, I remembered I’d canceled our home insurance on the house we just sold but hadn’t put our new house on any plan. With my anxietyContinue reading “A Storm Brews”

“What’s that? What’s that?” Evelyn asked, her little voice breaking through the noise. I was too busy reading the emergency weather alert on my phone, distracted by the obnoxious, repeating sound. It took me a second to snap out of it, like a boxer recovering from a right hook. I helped Evelyn understand that highContinue reading “Parenting in a Storm”

I take fun and twist it into a pretzel of complication and seriousness. I spoil the freshness with a single look, then toss my hair over my shoulder as if your puckered face doesn’t faze me. I’m addicted to the lines you draw, the waves on the page, the swirls of yellow, orange, and brown,Continue reading “Reviewing Reels: A Poem”

This week’s writing exercise is inspired by Chapter 7 of Ursula Le Guin’s Steering the Craft. The focus is on perspective, an area where I’ve been stumbling a bit. Fortunately, Joey helped clear things up during our weekly writing call. I skipped the third-person observer exercise because I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it,Continue reading “Perspective Writing Exercise”

From the soreness and stiffness in my thighs, hips, calves, and lower back, I know I did something that hurt so good. Running the 5k after months of healing my knee made me feel proud and ready for more. My eyelids are growing heavy, each blink getting longer, and with every close, I can feelContinue reading “A Race for a Slower Pace”