I hear her in the upstairs bedroom, the one that was hers for so long and is now filled with her younger sister’s things, giggling into her phone. “I know, right?” she laughs. I hear the joy, the flirtations, and the cautiously optimistic tones. And I pray. I pray that the… Read full post »

A real life exchange between my youngest daughter and me last  night on Face Book.  I guess this says it all. 

Mom,

I’ve been thinking about you lately and I wonder sometimes if you're fulfilled?

I know how I get when I want something more in my… Read full post »

Would you like a glass of tea?  I’ve got coffee on. Are you hungry? Let’s go sit. Tell me how you’re doing.  How’s your mama?

People have asked me, especially when I lived in California, what it’s like to be a Southerner.  Below I’ve listed some cult… Read full post »

When my kids were teenagers and starting to date I was the condom Nazi. I bought Trojans by the gross at the big box discount stores. I set them out, right by the door, in a huge, fancy, cut crystal bowl. Like Halloween candy. Take as many as you need I… Read full post »

*update:  per a suggestion from my good friend bbd. 

Please read to the end.

(whaddaya think Barry?  Think that'll keep 'em?)

I live up against our local National Park.  When you’re a regular on the trails like I am you get used to seeing many of the same… Read full post »

A couple of weeks ago my youngest son returned home from seven months in Patagonian Chile and Argentina.  He was attending an outdoor leadership school and was doing things like this:

 Youngest son mountaineering in the Andes in Chile

And this:

%IMAG… Read full post »

Spring teases, bats her lashes, blows kisses

With the burning of the last of winter’s leaves.

Spiraling up with the ashes toward azure heaven

She meets Grace and they begin the dance.

Hand in hand, twirling, dipping, each with her own style.

Will I choose to celebrate?

They come without invitat… Read full post »

Jacey Mack wrote a wonderful post on body image and her struggles with weight gain.  You can access her post here:

http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=77343

This is my response and story:

Dear Jacey Mack,

Your post struck a nerve with me. First let me explain myself. I am 48, happily ma… Read full post »

December 1996. It was the second Friday. Sweet Husband had been out of work for eighteen long months. I sat at the dining room table sorting through a pile of bills. Fifteen hundred dollars short. The checking account amounted to about thirty five.

I could feed the six of us… Read full post »

Ring.

“Jello?”

“Pudding pops. Listen, am I crazy?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Mom!”

“Oh…you wanted me to wait for the story…”

“Listen…Cody texted me today and…”

“I was just getting ready to call you. Daddy said… Read full post »

Hey sister, sister here’s what we should do.

When we get older, just me and you.

We’ll go traveling.

You know you’re the one I would choose.

We’ll go in the rain and make Paris by spring.

The Louvre and the Seine we will see.

The art in the streets,… Read full post »

Years ago, when Sweet Husband and I were newly married, we bought our first home. A big old rambling, fixer-upper, craftsman on the tree lined street in Pasadena, California where he had grown up. We busted our asses working on that place. We were a house proud couple when Christmas rolled… Read full post »

The last year I worked as a special education assistant teacher in the local middle school I was assigned to the SID classroom. SID is short for Severely Intellectually Disabled. The kids in our room all qualified SID because they were evaluated to have an iq score of less than 25. All… Read full post »

When ever I see someone holding a sign that says something like God Hates Fags I get pissed. So pissed that my eyeballs bleed. I want to beat the crap out of that hatemonger. But I don’t. I just close my eyes take a deep breath and call Scott. Like always… Read full post »