Things That Make Me Cry

All the things. Every. Single. Thing. I’m a crier — a messy, red-nosed, puffy-faced crier. I cry happy tears, sad tears, grateful tears, angry tears, scared tears, confused tears. I cry them all. Lately, though, I think I’m getting worse. Hormones? Age? Not giving two shits about crying in front of people? Maybe all of […]
A Letter to the North Pole

Dear Santa, I know it’s January 5th. And I know you tend to get most of your mail in December. And typically, it all comes from those in the 0-8 age range. But here’s the thing… none of my kids wrote to you this year, so I feel the need to bridge that gap. They’re […]
The Perks of Having an Under-Protective Mother

I think movie raters might be dyslexic. The PG-13 rating? At times, I think they really mean for it to be PG-31. In fact, I’m not sure the movie I saw last week should have been less than a PG-42. I wasn’t quite ready for it. Maybe when I’m 43… It was a good idea […]
Upon Further Reflection

Sometimes my brain works better in lists — random, scattered, unordered. Today is one of those days. That said, I’d like to share 42 thoughts and observations… one for each year of my life thus far. And an extra eight… just for verbosity’s sake. Apparently, I have more than 42 things to remind myself of. […]
Hurricane Warning

It’s been a rough week. They happen sometimes… to all of us. Whether you’ve moved four states away from the only home you’ve ever known, whether you and your spouse both started brand new jobs and left all your friends and family behind, whether your four kids trudged through their first year in scary new […]
Highs and Lows

Chris is worried about me. And it’s because of my shoes. “I’m afraid you’ve lost your in-between,” he said recently as I lounged around in my workout clothes and then promptly changed into pajamas when I couldn’t imagine prolonging the agony of wearing my bra one second longer. “Release the hounds!” we like to announce […]
Choking Artie

Once upon a time, a youngish 40-something willingly agreed to support her smart, sassy husband in his career endeavors, sold the house they built together and thought they’d live in forever, packed up the kids, medicated the canines, and moved to StarkVegas, MS — home of armadillo roadkill and summer air so thick you can […]
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 […]
The Wisdom of Age

I had the honor of being a “guest blogger” on my friend, Nicole’s “The Year of Exploration” site. Of course, I was late with my submission. But because the committee members are kind and forgiving and enjoy sharing an occasional glass of red (thanks, Liz), they posted it anyway. Thought I’d share it here with you. […]
A Letter to Our Home Buyers

Dear Home Buyers, Welcome! We are thrilled that you found us, that you chose to look around, that you’re planning to stay a while. We know this hasn’t been the easiest process to go through, and we appreciate your patience. It’s been frustrating for us — I’m sure it’s been doubly frustrating for you. But […]