The Fear
Dear Diary, I’ve been afraid of a lot of things in my lifetime—spiders, heights, Jason Vorhees, the under-the-bed clown in Poltergeist, drinking out of my toddlers’ used cups, jolting myself awake while snoring on a plane, inadvertently swallowing bugs while I’m sleeping—the list goes on. The thing is, it’s usually pretty easy to recognize when […]
Give Her a Face
America, I’m worried. I’ve been reading day in and day out about the Central American refugee children in Texas, and it seems so many of us have forgotten our hearts. There are those who will argue my use of the term “refugee,” but I stand firmly behind it. When mothers choose to send their babies […]
Creature Comforts
It’s been a drop-me-to-my-knees kind of week. More than once, I’ve looked upward and cried, “Uncle. Uncle. Uncle.” I’m not what anyone would call a religious person, but I am spiritual. I believe unequivocally in God — whatever He or She might look like. And this week, I have been begging for mercy, for guidance, […]
Adventures with Shmee: Part One
My first Starkville visitor left after we dined at Mugshots last night. We drank our final beers, toasted with our last shared glasses of red, sneered at the LSU fans sitting at the bar. She ate veggies, I ate fries. We hugged. I didn’t cry. You know why? Because she gave me a new set […]
Jumping for Joy
I received the email yesterday afternoon. I almost deleted it. I was clicking through all the unwanted spam in my rarely used RoadRunner account when I stopped at the subject line that said, “Congratulations!” I was fairly certain I was about to be congratulated for winning a new pair of extra-tummy-control pantyhose or a free […]
Scary Beach Stories
My girl isn’t afraid of much. She wants to become a certified scuba diver. She’s interested in skydiving. She climbs mountains like a bobcat. She can strike up a conversation with anyone in the room. Karaoke some rockin’ Taylor Swift in front of a room full of strangers? Whatevs. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0cuvzvywH4&w=480&h=390] We all know she’s […]
Leap of Faith
It’s official. Our house is on the market. In this tumultuous time of negative equity and rising interest rates, we’ve decided to forge ahead. It’s a buyer’s market, not a seller’s. But at this juncture, we are paying keen attention to the signs the universe is laying at our feet. And, after all, we’ve never […]