Morning Coffee Chats…A Hard Habit To Break.
After my mom passed away, mornings were the toughest time of day for me. Before she died, mom and I used to start most mornings on the phone over coffee. Some days I would call her, and she would say, “give me a few minutes to grab my coffee and I’ll call you right back.”… Read More Morning Coffee Chats…A Hard Habit To Break.
Mom’s Christmas Plate
My mom had a plate she displayed on the kitchen counter. It was white, rectangular shaped, and sat on a small easel. Nothing out of the ordinary really. She used it as a makeshift bulletin board mostly for reminders. With a dry erase marker she would jot down an appointment reminder or a couple of… Read More Mom’s Christmas Plate
Light Up The Sky
There are certain phrases you say to your kids, your spouse, your friends that become second nature. Ever since my son, Evan, started playing sports at a very young age, I’ve always told him to LIGHT UP THE SKY. Through the years, in the rare instance I had to miss a game, I would tell… Read More Light Up The Sky
The Stories We Bleed
Stories are such a big part of our lives. From those childhood fairy tales told to us before we could read, to the adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Women, and Alice in Wonderland when we could reach for our book of choice. Stories allow us to experience what isn’t contained in our world. I have… Read More The Stories We Bleed
Is There Ever A Good Time To Check Your Baggage?
The airport felt more like an amusement park with people lined up elbowing their way to the front of the rollercoaster line. I slowly shuffled forward a couple of steps at a time. Normally, I love people watching, creating stories in my head for the elderly couple holding hands behind me or the young mom… Read More Is There Ever A Good Time To Check Your Baggage?
A Communist Christmas
As I watched my daughter’s tiny face inspect the mysterious box, I was overcome with the memories of Christmases past. How could an intangible recollection hold such a physical presence, wrapping me in a warm glow while simultaneously strangling me in an icy dread, especially on Christmas morning? Christmas morning. It wasn’t like any Christmas… Read More A Communist Christmas
In God We Trust
I may as well have been standing before them stripped naked. That’s how exposed I felt. The soldiers had announced their arrival with a loud pounding on the front door of our home. A few days prior, my husband and I had begun the official paperwork requesting permission to leave the only country we had… Read More In God We Trust
Laced With Fear
The darkness was all around me. I had been trained to stay in my room and wait for my mom to come to me. It never took my mom long, but to me it always felt like an eternity. The blackouts had begun a few weeks ago, but I still wasn’t used to them. At… Read More Laced With Fear
Freedom Of Speech…DENIED
At the age of 30, he was living his dream as a writer and journalist. He had always loved writing. As a child, he had spent countless hours creating stories with the vivid imagination afforded those of a young age. He wrote about adventure, mystery, and romance. His favorite stories were about heroes who saved… Read More Freedom Of Speech…DENIED