If I’d known you were coming, I might have… -emptied the compost and wiped down my kitchen counter. -picked out something decent to wear instead of standing there in my stained shirt and faded jeans. -reviewed how you told me that I talked too much and wasn’t a good listener. -come up with some witty…
Author: lenleatherwood
I am a native Texan who has lived for the past 27 years in Los Angeles. I am a published author of both short memoir and fiction, a Pushcart nominee, a nationally award-winning writing coach, an editor, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. In addition, I am the mother of three grown daughters of whom I am extremely proud, a grandmother of three darling children and the wife of a man I still love after 41 years.
Liz and Ron’s Baby Shower Today
Today we celebrated Ron and Liz’s baby shower. We decorated, had great food, laughed, talked, and opened presents. It was a wonderful gathering of people who care about Ron and Liz and who were there to wish their growing family well. I didn’t add photos of everyone because there were too many to include….
Unseen Forces
This is the second draft of a poem I started today in a poetry workshop. It is a work in progress but also my writing practice for today. I am struggling with the connections and the theme. But I am now ready for bed and ready to let this sit for a while before I…
Busy in Preparation for Baby
I am eager to get something on the page so I can go to bed. I realize this isn’t the right approach to a serious writing practice, but right now it’s 10 pm on a Friday night and I’ve spent the last several days getting up early and working all day helping to get prepared…
Up in Ojai in our Airstream
Raindrops drum on the aluminum roof Strains of classical music fill the air Our corgi snoozes on the couch Steam rises from a pan of hot water on the stove Santa in his red coat stands on the front shelf A bag of gifts slung over his shoulder Our jade is festooned with Christmas birds…
In Ten Years…
In ten years, I hope I will… Continue to share my life with my husband Ray Enjoy good health Live a stable and happy existence Stay close to my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, and, hopefully, a couple of unborn grandkids Remain in close contact with my extended family and friends, near and far Spend…
For Unto Us A Child is Born
In the spirit of Advent and the upcoming Christmas season, I am revisiting a story I wrote a while back. This is also with the thought of our very own Baby Betty preparing to join the family in the upcoming weeks. The teakettle bubbled on the stove, sending up a stream of white mist into…
A Pushcart Nomination!
I am very pleased to share that I have recently received the wonderful news that my essay, “My Mother and Her Pain,” published in the 2022 Story Circle Network anthology, Real Women Write: Seeing Through Their Eyes, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I am one of six nominees from Real Women Write whose…
Storyworth Preparation
Sarah and her family gave me the gift last Christmas of Storyworth, which is a company that has you send in stories that you write and they make them into a book. I am in the unique position of having over 2500 posts on my blog, with at least a couple of hundred posts being…
A Highly Recommended Mystery Series
Ray and I have been watching Stay Close, an excellent limited mystery series on Netflix based on the novel by Harlan Coben. The story is complicated enough to pull you in and the characters are developed well enough that you feel as if you have a good understanding of what makes them tick. There’s also…
20 Minutes a Day 