He wasn’t a “holiday” kind of dad. Born eighth in a family of 12 children in Depression-era Missouri, he learned that being smart with money was better than seeing who could give or receive the nicest gift.

“When it was time for Christmas at Mama and Daddy’s hous… Read full post »

From where I stood looking out of the kitchen window, I could hear him saying, “Yes, I heard, and I’m sorry. I am so very sorry.”  My husband is a natural "fixer."  That, and his tenacity, is what makes him a good engineer.  Sadly, it's also what makes it hard to… Read full post »

 In her face, I see my family’s past. I see her great, great grandmother who took in laundry and used the coins to send offspring to college in the early 1900's.

In her smile, I see a joke played on her very vegetarian father. He left her with us while he… Read full post »

In an average month, I spend nearly 80 hours riding a commuter train or the subway between my home in Virginia and my editor job in Washington, DC.

To console myself about my time-sucking travels, I keep an eye out for the unusual. Last week, I saw… Read full post »

‘Where is Steve?’

In my mind, he has not yet breathed his last breath.

Instead, it is last September.  My stepfather, Steve, is calling my home in Virginia from his and my mom’s house in Colorado.

 “I called to tell you about my good day,” he exclaims. … Read full post »

Last week brought an e-mail from a local writer friend.  She said that the writing group at her church was organizing one of this month’s Sunday services. They wanted to know if I would read something about last year’s historic Presidential election.  I can’t, because I wi… Read full post »

Most days, I walk up the escalators that move passengers through the stations that make up Washington, DC’s metro transit system.  I tell myself that the activity is the cardio portion of an almost daily Vinyasa practice – one that alternates between a full-blown yoga practice and a… Read full post »