A Letter To Luna about Her Mom

I wrote this way back in 2013, just after Luna was born, but it seems fitting to post it again since Sarah’s birthday was yesterday. Luna (now 12) reads my blog occasionally, so she might be interested in a letter I wrote to her when she was 5 weeks and 6 days old. Not to…

Happy Birthday, Sarah! Here’s Your Birth Story.

Tomorrow is my oldest daughter Sarah’s birthday. As is my custom, I am sharing her birth story, which in her case was a bit more harrowing than her sisters’ births. As a physician herself now who has delivered a fair number of babies, I’m sure this story gives her a few shivers. But the good…

Flash Fiction: The Healing of Spring

Spring was just closing the door to her garage when he appeared. A lone figure at the end of her driveway, a dark silhouette against the gray dusk. “Hey,” he called, and she froze. She recognized that baritone voice from her past, her college boyfriend, Aaron, the one she almost married before he announced he…

Mother’s Day, 2025

I am a lucky woman. My daughters, Sarah and Liz, and their families were here at the orange grove yesterday and today, and my third daughter, Rachael, was with us from Wednesday through Friday at noon. I am tired but happy. Here are a few photos of my grandkids, Sarah, and Liz. I am using…

To Mom on Mother’s Day Eve

I wrote this piece a while back, but it still reflects many of my feelings about my mother. This could be titled, “Some of My Favorite Things about Mom.” I was thinking about my mother today and the secret things I loved about her. For example, I loved her smell, which was a combination of…

Poem: A Rescue Mission

My childhood self sat alone and afraidat the bottom of a deep, dark cave She had no ability to save herselfShe was small, vulnerableUnaware of options I knew she was thereI was aware I could save herI understood I was the only person Who could rescue her I stood at the cave’s mouthFaced the darknessIgnored…

Flash Fiction: Edith’s Tear

This is a story I wrote a while back. I thought I would share it tonight because I like the main character’s voice, and the ending made me smile. Dad gives me a wink, like we are pals or something. We’re sitting in our kitchen having eggs and waffles on a Sunday morning. I’m not…

Congratulations to Marie Howe for Her Pulitzer Prize in Poetry!

I love Marie Howe’s poetry. It is accessible, heartfelt, and beautifully expressed. I first saw her when she was a guest on fellow poet Billy Collins’s Masterclass and she read her poem, “What the Living Do,” which expresses her grief over losing her brother John to AIDS in 1889. I lost two brothers, John and…