I came home to find a bare spot in my front yard. The extent of the gap wasn’t apparent until daylight the following morning. Autumn and the falling leaves always lets a little more light in from each sunrise but this was a new level of illumination. Even the room darkening shades were no match …
Sincerely Yours
The year my daughter turned thirteen, she and I stood in line in the dark in a cold, misting rain outside Target on Thanksgiving until the store opened at midnight. She had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket and I agreed to take her to one store. The aisles were lined with televisions, …
Unshakeable
This Election Day was different. It passed like any other day for me. I voted early in the day as I have in every Presidential election since I was eighteen. As one gentleman and I agreed as I exited the polling site, voting is both a privilege and a responsibility of citizenship. I thanked each …
Look To The Mountains
Our collective gaze is directed toward the western North Carolina mountains. Places I’ve known and visited as a child- Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Black Mountain- so recently devastated by a storm that should have never reached their borders, were caught completely off their guard. When Helene stalled out over the Smokies after several days of …
Biting Isn’t For Babies
Toddler silliness can quickly escalate to ugliness. Hitting, pushing, or biting seem to come out of nowhere but if you’re paying attention, it has usually been building gradually toward a crescendo. Either both want to do the same thing or simply don’t want the other to do it. The most recent incident involved opening the …
Stir Crazy
We’re home now but the weather today reminds me of the first two and a half days of last week’s beach vacation, rainy and cold. Much too cool and windy outside for the two and six month olds, just cold enough to drain the excitement from the toddlers in the first five minutes, and no …
Stubborn Refusal
“I’m sorry. I completely forgot.” My daughter waited for me to return to the room where she was nursing the baby. I walked across the house to put away a few stray items and became distracted by several things at once. Half an hour later, she emerged, baby in her arms, searching for me and …
Searching For The Source
An isolated patch of moonlight shone on the floor at the foot of my bed. I’m up at all hours of the night and I had never seen this spot before so I stepped across it, searching for its origin. A full moon was just a day or two away. There were no clouds in …
Caught Off Guard
“We won’t melt,” I said to my daughter as the sprinkling rain came. The overcast sky had been threatening all day but we’d finally pulled our chairs outside along with the sand box and the water table. Thomas’s front was already soaked from play so we sat, half an hour or more, in the drizzle, …
Best Advice My Mom Ever Gave Me- Part 1
“Let’s get a Frosty!” said Jacob for the second day in a row as he climbed into the car at the elementary school. “Not today, buddy,” I said. “But why not?” he whined. “We’ve had our after school treat for this week,” I reminded him, “plus I don’t have any cash.” “Just use that plastic …
A Fitting Reply 