I have spent the past week hauling freshly-drawn milk in buckets hanging from a belt around my waist. I’ve been picking poke salad and gathering pecans. I’ve been walking to school, barefoot, bruising my feet and losing toenails along the way. And in the past seven days, I spent nine days in the back of … More Little House on the Prairie Had Nothin’ on These Kids
The roots of a family tree are a lot like the roots of a real tree. Sometimes they aren’t visible at all; you know they’re there and have been for many years, but they are covered up by the rich soil, doing their job, not demanding any attention whatsoever. Other times, the rugged, old, and … More Getting to the Root of the Story
At some point in my early childhood, in my pretty, happy bedroom with the shaggy yellow carpeting, there was a Charlie Brown trash can with the exclamation, “Good Grief” bubbled over that big, round head. Of course I knew Charlie Brown, and I’d heard him lament in many Charlie Brown specials, but never did I … More Grief is Not a Four Letter Word
Awake early again, on a Saturday morning. In my pre-dawn haze, waiting hopefully for sleep to return, I knew it was useless. Words were dancing on the walls of my brain. Different sizes, different colors. Too brightly lit for sleep to return. It wouldn’t be back. Frustrating this time, because the words weren’t the content … More My New Crush
FlutteringBy 