Optimism, my 2020 Resolution
“Happy New Year!” I said to a member of our writing community. “How are things? How are you doing?” I asked, knowing she is primary caretaker for several of her family members. “Okay,” she said, “though nothing has really changed. I drive them to doctors’...
Happy New Year
Open Christmas gifts with Uncles galore Cook turkey on the fire with Grandpa Play, play, play in the mud kitchen and more Ride the train again, far from Grandma And now it is quiet, except for washer and dryer, turkey burbling in the pot, and doggie...
Merry Christmas
Heathcliff loves this little person, who had her first encounter with snow today. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas—today’s note from...
Effective Complaining
I waited in line for the next available clerk at the Plow and Hearth store in Barracks Road Shopping Center. When it was my turn, I stepped to the counter and pulled a bag from my purse. Then I explained the problem. “Last month, I used the store’s 20% discount...
Hope, writing memoir, and the second week of Advent
I sat across the table from my editor at Panera in Barracks Road Shopping Center. We’d met for lunch and to debrief her review of my faith memoir. I came prepared with points for discussion about the twelve of forty chapters she’d noted, those not fully connected...
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
I couldn’t get the song out of my head. It haunted me as I walked the mountain road this past week—huffing the final incline up our driveway—and while driving to and from a joyful Thanksgiving with family. O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That...