Open Doors
The winter I was seventeen, I visited my once raucous Mennonite playmate whose ill health had transformed into a soft-spoken friend. The whites of her deep brown eyes had yellowed from the severe complications of her liver. Her family and
Growing Up
Seventeen years ago I requested a white Persian kitten for Christmas, but my father’s storage barn business was slow as it usually was over winter so instead I received an orange and white long-haired tom that hissed and clawed until
Keeping Marriage From Losing Its Luster
As the jeweler passed my engagement and wedding ring back in a small plastic bag, I could not stop staring at the brilliance of the gems that had been filmed with neglect and time. I had not always taken them for
Publishing Wisdom From a Whippersnapper
(Celebrating my birthday at a B&B with my husband, so I uploaded this vlog instead.)
The Hourglass of Time
One o’clock in the morning and even in sleep my daughter hiccupped from the magnitude of her eleven o’clock cries. I nestled her closer – her feet pressing into my stomach like tiny hot stones, her dimpled hands clutching the
I Know Just How You Feel
As I plodded through the sleepless period of my newborn daughter’s life, the greatest kindness was when other mothers reached out and told me that they had been there, too; that they knew what it was like to count down
Climbing to New Heights
Two weeks ago my husband, Randy, was working on our chimney while I sat under the front porch writing. The wind swayed the trees bordering the field and spun the outdoor ceiling fans; hummingbirds buzzed each other like tropical insects
A Harvest Bounty of Her Own
Running parallel to our lane are six rows of tiny saplings my husband just planted. Their naked branches are easily bent by the wind sweeping across our valley, making it hard to imagine the harvest bounty they will one day
Never Too Late To Turn
I do not need a psychology degree to pinpoint the reason for my shift from bohemian to bookworm. My sophomore year in college, my entire world whipped off into a whole new orbit--disease, death, and substance abuse flinging the people
The Secret’s Out!
If someone confides in me, you couldn't get the information out if you were using the water boarding technique, but if the secret only concerns myself