I wrote this essay in the fall of 2020, before the election and right in the middle of the extreme tensions surrounding the election, COVID issues, and racial justice issues. I would rather not enter into the fray of current debates when they’re actually happening, and still am not debating any of the issues themselves. […]
On 2021, Society, and the Loss of Humor.
I have been doing a lot of pondering, and a bit of mourning on why I cannot write anymore…or why I do not write anymore…whichever it is. I miss writing terribly, and I’ve tried several times over the past couple years to return to it with regularity, but I find myself unable to do so. […]
Grasping for Objectivity in Probiotic Social Distancing.
I’ve spent half the week trying to understand the coronavirus. All of the conflicting reports and graphs have just confused me and forced me to keep digging to find some objectivity in all the mess of opinions and prophecies and, of course, legit funny memes. After words left me boggled, I finally went to my most trusted friend, numbers. I […]
Backwards Blessings.
My 92 year old grandmother, my Mother’s mom, moved in with my parents in Mid-April, five months before my dad passed away. I remember the week she moved in – it was an extraordinarily chaotic week for our entire family. Mammaw had had a bad day at her house, which was the impetus for getting […]
Hitting Pause.
I’ve been struggling through my relationship with this blog for the last three years, for a myriad of reasons. …Writing is so much harder for me than it used to be (I’ll get back to that.) …Blogging is a “dead art.” …My kids are growing up and not as entertaining/deserve their privacy. …School and life take more time […]
Finding Color in the Gray.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might’ve already read part of this, but I felt like sharing it with a little more detail here. This week, I finally started venturing out of the house again. I know, I know – I got out the day after surgery to take snow pictures. But then I […]
Origin Stories.
Every year about this time, I write a post similar to this one. Then I don’t publish it, out of concern that my words would be misread or misunderstood. This year I decided to go ahead and hit that publish button. For the past ten years, the constants of my life have been that I am a writer, a mom, […]
Self-Esteem Lessons From the Petting Zoo.
So. Not-Crazy-Renee and I took our kids to Oak Mountain State Park on Friday. We went on a hike, and then to the petting zoo. The goats, peacocks, donkey, and pony were as much fun as usual, and the mixture of animals and children made for delightful photographic opportunities. At one point, I took a […]
On Crossing the Bridge from Kid to Tween.
Dear Ali, Something about turning nine is clearly a large step – we’re entering into something new, something unknown, a completely different territory of life. Maybe it’s not that exact age for everyone, but we sense it with you. You’re growing up, figuring out who you are, becoming more self-aware of your personhood. We’ve been having lots […]
A Brief (or not) Summary of the Week.
Disclaimer: Don’t expect this to be too amusing. Muscle relaxers make minds mushy. Narcotic pain pills make minds even mushier. And I can’t make tragedy humorous unless I have at least a day or two away from it, and I only got one day away from it and I didn’t sit around writing. But more […]