Parenting
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When He Grabbed Me
I was on my way across Alligator Alley to see one of my favorite singers in concert. I stopped to stretch my legs and take a few photos. The giant parking lot was empty. Cars zoomed past in front of me heading across the alley. Just before I climbed back into my car, a man stuck his head out the window of a truck and began howling whistling and barking at me. My first thought was, seriously, this is still happening? How do guys still think this behavior is okay? Then I thought about my manuscript. Of course, it’s still happening it’s why I felt so compelled to write a…
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When I Was A Foster Mom
They placed her in my arms. I thought they had made a mistake and brought me the wrong baby. She was so big with beautiful dark curls framing her face. When she left to be with who we were told would be her adoptive mother she was a tiny three-month-old that had been with us over two months. I hardly recognized the six-month old I held in my arms. She cried and cried refusing to be set down even for a second. I understood. For the next several months she was either in my arms or my husbands. That summer her brother and sister came to live with us too. They were…
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A Quiet House
A quiet house Door opens to smiling faces My babies are home Laughter Music Food filling the fridge and spilling onto the counter Lasagne Cookies Pie Chocolate And a giant pan of mac-n-cheese Familiar voices fill the living room late into the night, teens that have grown to adults My heart content, feeling a peace I never fully understood I’d lost All is well Conversations at breakfast, mugs of coffee refilled Sunny, crisp air, days with books in our hands for hours Decorations pulled from bins, scattered throughout the house Icicle lights sparkling Pups tails wagging, waiting by their leashes Memories fill the space we call home. Our separate lives…
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Saying Goodbye
The storm’s been brewing for a year. I’ve seen it off in the distance. I’ve felt its presence every day. It’s the storm of change. Most days I’ve ignored it, but now it’s overhead, ready to blow the past away forcing me to start anew.
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5 Things I Learned From My Daughter
I remember the morning I was driving over the Cape bridge into Ft. Myers where I worked as an elementary school teacher. I was listening to the radio. The DJ came on and began talking about a petition for a middle school girl who used a wheelchair who wanted to be on her track team. Suddenly, I realized they were talking about my daughter!
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The Habit of Loving Life
“You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life.” Walt Whitman
