THE world, our choices, are never easy to navigate. Sometimes it seems as if we're put in the driver's seat and told, "Go," when we never learned in the first place. As I write through grief, I've been fortunate to have wonderful support from those who read and who contact me on a weekly basis. … Continue reading Save the Tractor and a Wonderful Father
Month: June 2020
What is Our Treasure’s Chest? Excerpt from a Corrie Poem
In life, it's easy for us to think we have more time. Think about being sixteen, seventeen or eighteen, and you think: "That can't happen to me." It doesn't matter what that is. I close the door to Corrie's room every night because we used to keep it open, but I open it during the… Continue reading What is Our Treasure’s Chest? Excerpt from a Corrie Poem
Memoir Inspiration: Corrie and Hayes
Great stories take us to a place we’ve never been. Maybe it’s a place we dream of going, but for whatever reason, we’re unable. The Emotion It’s like this. Remember being a kid. If you went on a trip, imagine the excitement just before, and the classic question: “When are we leaving?” Multiply that question… Continue reading Memoir Inspiration: Corrie and Hayes
The Original Easter Letter to my Daughter from 2015
This is the original post I wrote on Easter morning April 4, 2015 as a letter to my daughter. I left it mostly unedited to share again now. from April 4, 2015 Dear Corrie, Two women talk at the park about the latest in little girls' names: Lily. Two weeks later, a woman says to… Continue reading The Original Easter Letter to my Daughter from 2015
Ain’t No One’s Humpty Dumpty
If you read a children's nursery rhyme, something dark crawls beneath its surface. Take Humpty Dumpty for example. He "sat on a wall." Okay, it seems simple."Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."Okay, he fell. So did Jack and Jill. "All the King's horsemen and the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again."It seems simple, right?There was nothing anyone could… Continue reading Ain’t No One’s Humpty Dumpty
The Middle School Season
Corrie on the night of my school's eighth grade dance this past winter. Some seasons we long to keep going. It is like that swim you want to take in September before the climate changes. Some seasons we want to end quickly. For five years and five months, I faced some serious tests from graduating… Continue reading The Middle School Season
Letting Go and not in the Elsa Way
The hardest part of parenthood is letting go. I am learning to let go in more ways than one. I'm not Elsa at the top of the mountain singing the joy of newfound freedom, "Let it go." As a child, I dreamed, however naively, I'd find this great love story and have my own children.… Continue reading Letting Go and not in the Elsa Way
Lost the Kitten: A Corrie Poem by her Mom
I lost the kitten that went with the mitten. I don’t know where to find her. She played in the sun. When she was done, she came to wash the dishes as she followed my wishes to help me with the dinner. She said, “I’m the winner,” to her Papa, who ate the chips and… Continue reading Lost the Kitten: A Corrie Poem by her Mom
You Will Have to Make Omelets Again
Corrie had a way of bringing out the artist in me. She had a way of opening me up when I had closed myself away from so many due to trust issues I’d developed through the years. In fact, if people wanted to see my real personality, I encouraged them to come to my classroom.… Continue reading You Will Have to Make Omelets Again
A Poem for Corrie
Writing should always have a purpose. When we're thirteen, it may only be to get those feelings out on paper with our limited knowledge of the world. Then, in some cases, thirteen-year-olds know more than my preteen self. I am so thankful to those who've reached out in person, on Facebook, and from the Twitter… Continue reading A Poem for Corrie