Who Needs You to Listen to Them?
Every few months or so, I’ll get a migraine headache that forces me to get in bed. Last night, I crawl into my daughter’s bed, and she joins me. At 7:00 PM–two hours before her bedtime. The little one finds her pajamas, brushes her teeth, and snuggles up on the other side of […]
Listen to This Story
Vernal Pond in PA Today, I had time to listen to different folks tell me a story. I ask a neighbor to tell me the story about how she moved from one county to another. I ask a complete stranger to tell me the story of how she transferred from one college to another. Both […]
How to Be Sick with Flair
All night long, a fever rages, and I can’t keep warm no matter what I do. I’m coughing so much that I actually lose my voice. I can’t talk on the phone; I can’t boss my family around; I can’t even go to church and call out my welcomes. I try to get out of […]
Just Because There’s Space Doesn’t Mean You Have to Fill It
For the first time in 9 years, I’m going to have space. Space and time. Both my daughters will attend elementary school from 8:30-3:00 PM. Already, I’m filling up those future days. I work part time and help coordinate ministry events with my husband. I write novels and design college writing courses on the side. […]
Writing Atop a Double-Decker Bus with WiFi
I’m doing something I’ve never done before: I’m riding atop a double-decker bus on the way to Manhattan. I’m with complete strangers. But here’s what I know: The woman beside me was homecoming queen, and I know the whole story about the boy she met when she was 14 who visited, only in the summers, […]