This week's assignment for my fiction writing course is to tell the story of a journey.  The main character must have an experience that subtly changes them.  It's a fairly structured assignment involving quite a bit more, but the journey and a subtle change are the key features.

I wou… Read full post »

Interoffice MEMO

October 14, 2010

To: The Body

From: The Mind

RE: Quarterly Performance Review

Dear Body:

From time to time, it is imperative to have a general review of performance and progress towards goals to make sure we are on the same page and jointly working towards our mutually agreed… Read full post »

And so the seasons change once more. Summer’s heat wore me down and now Fall’s cool breath stirs me awake. I’ve been hibernating even though it hasn’t been the season for it. My social connections have been minimized to the people I necessarily must talk to, usually to order a… Read full post »

Terry Wiezorek, mother of two young children, attempted to read what is best described as “literature” while her children watched a movie over the weekend. “The heat index was 100, so I decided to let the kids watch Wall-E while we stayed inside with the air conditioning. I didn&rsq… Read full post »

My neighborhood is home to a fantastic bakery that makes old world style breads.  By that I mean they are expensive and made without preservatives so you have to consume them the day you purchase them.  The next morning they will be either rock hard or rubbery, depending on your method/… Read full post »

Today is the day in which I wait.

I wait for the phone to ring or for my husband to appear at my office.

I wait for the news sites to update their features with the identity of the woman's body found wrapped in garbage bags, left at the school dumpsters.… Read full post »

An uncle had a Doberman named Prior.  When asked about the name, he said “Prior to getting him, I could leave my newspaper and shoes on the floor without them being eaten and prior to getting him, my friends could sit on the couch.” His list of priors went on and/… Read full post »

This week, a 36 year old mother was struck and killed by an SUV while jogging with 2 of her 3 children.  The driver was a young man with a record of driving carelessly who was believed to be stoned at the time he ran a stop sign.  Lisa Styles died… Read full post »

Really?  No more lemons, please.  You see, I've made enough lemonade to quench the thirst of stadium sized crowds watching Lawrence of Arabia in August at high noon.

At first it was just a pitcher and it was fun to be the spunky gal who makes lemonade when life doles out… Read full post »

Every 12 weeks, a new group of children aged 7 to 9 came to the YMCA pool for Tadpole Swim Class. Some arrived anxious to hop in the water and show what they know while others clung to their mothers, desperately begging to go home. This group was no different. One… Read full post »

This is something I wrote a year ago, watching the antics of my son whose personality was really starting to become clear to us.

Lately I have been pressed by the dizzying pace of life around me and dismayed by the tragedies in the news.  I wonder what is happening to our connections to nature, to each other and our world.  I go running in the woods to escape it all and recently have had more… Read full post »

This was originally written in response to the write your obituary open call.  As I'm now watching an intense thunderstorm outside (a "thunderwhopper" in the local lingo), this seems to be the most appropriate re-post.  Whatever your weather- I hope you enjoy it.

The February snowsto… Read full post »

If asked a question to which they do not readily know the answer, most of my friends reach for, well that is if they even put them down, their iPhones, Blackberries or other weapon of choice.  It is almost a challenge to see who can quote from Wikipedia the fastest or/… Read full post »

(After missing OS for a week, I'm indulging in the 10 Questions responses that have been posted!) 

1. What Is Your Favorite Word?   "Mummy-bummy" when said by my son through his giggles.

2. What Is Your Least Favorite Word?   "Hatchet" after first hearing the p… Read full post »

A hazard of spring is the temptation at the end of a Thursday to say to one's children, "who wants to go for ice cream?"  This always seems like a good idea until entering our favorite shop and remembering the seating is minimal, it is often crowded and my children quite literally… Read full post »

Let's just call off Mother's Day this year, at least in my home. 

There is the fact that I cannot forget that I am a mother.  Regardless of miles I run or sit ups I try to complete, my belly will give me away every time.  I have bags under… Read full post »

Tired.

Bones aching, body leaden, can't even open my eyes brand of tired.

Breathing is lifting and lowering a weight on my chest.

Don't even have the energy to move from this awkward chair to my bed.

Just want to melt here and seep into the floor kind of tired.

Feet hot… Read full post »

So far this morning I have experienced fulfilling happiness, exasperation beyond belief, frustration that makes my head do that cartoon smoke out the ears thing, sadness, more happiness, satisfaction and a bit of depression.

There is nothing unusual about this morning and it is more or less like any… Read full post »

I awake each day breathing deeply and hoping for the sun.

I let yesterday slip into the past, peacefully and serenely, perhaps remembered in a few written words.

I reach for a hand to hold, sometimes to lead, sometimes to be led, but always to love. Read full post »

 Earlier today 3 Peregrine Falcon chicks hatched high atop the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus. 

See them live here: http://www.aviary.org/cons/falconcam_cl.php

Here is a snapshot to lighten the heart, perhaps to bring a smile and to remember our conser… Read full post »

My earliest memory involves my brothers trying to set something on fire and being anxious about their possible success. I was 4 or 5 and trying to hide behind our sister who was admonishing them in a vain attempt to take charge of the situation. I can also recall my father’s… Read full post »

 After much consideration, I cannot bear to write my own obituary because I end up in tears for my children.  Instead, this slowly works around to what I want the end to be when it is my time.  Everything around me in nature and my neighborhood lives in cycles.   A Buddhist&n… Read full post »

Sleep, my child, sleep. 

Arms still wrapped ‘round, feet tucked under. 

Lips barely parted, pink and lax where they’ve left my breast.  The weight of a cheek pulling them slightly down.  The whisper of your sleeping breath, warm and sweet against my skin./… Read full post »