I have been playing catch up all evening, communicating with the Story Circle Network online teachers about the upcoming term and responding to reading comments and writing submissions from my current online flash fiction/flash memoir class. This week has been a whirlwind of activity centered around students, family and church. I had two solid days…
Category: Home
Happy Birthday, Rachael!
Dear Rachael, Twenty-five years ago today I delivered all 7 pounds of you on a sleeping bag spread out on the floor of Daddy’s and my bedroom in our Victorian on Grand Avenue in Sherman, Texas. Daddy and Patricia – dressed in their matching green hospital sweats they’d managed to procure just for this occasion…
A Doggie Problem: Advice Appreciated
My dogs are here in the den with me. Frankie on the stool at my feet and Cordelia on the couch across the room. She was giving me a long look just a minute ago but now has tucked her head and gone to sleep. Tough life these two have. We are having a disturbing…
Waiting for Luna to Return
Friday night. Waiting for Rachael and Ariel to bring Luna back from their dinner together, “a date,” Rachael called it for the three of them. Luna spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa and is also spending the night because her mother Sarah has returned to work in her family medicine residency program and is…
Doctor Day
Ray, Rachael and I went to the doctor today. The good news is that we are all on the mend from a virulent strain of the flu. Rachael had to have a chest x-ray, but, luckily it was clear. She and Ray both came home with medication. I was basically told that I needed to…
Day with the Grandkids
We had a lovely visit this afternoon with Sarah and our little grandchildren, Luna and Nico. We spent time at the park and then back at Sarah and Gregorio’s home. This evening Liz and Ron came over and we all had dinner together, which was a treat. We had lots of time at the park to…
Ailing Husband
I have a sick husband. The wind has been blowing from the east, bringing lots of allergens with it, and Ray has been complaining for the past two days about sinus-related headaches. This morning he woke up with a cough that had settled in his chest. “A productive cough,” he called it. “Isn’t that good?”…
The Simple Pleasure of An Overnight Visit
We are having the pleasure of an overnight visit from our daughter Elizabeth Beaty, who had LASIK surgery today at an outpatient facility near our home. She has a follow-up visit tomorrow morning, which makes it quite convenient to spend the night here rather than in Glendale where she lives. Our cat William is especially…
Best Birthday Wishes to My First Cousin, Lee
Happy birthday to my old friend and first cousin, Lee Leatherwood, who preceded me into this life by six days. We have known each other all of our lives, having lived only a block away from each other for our first five years, then only a few blocks away until we were eighteen. Then, we…
Nico’s Arrival: A Few Scary Moments
Ray and I had a good cry yesterday after they wheeled Sarah into the operating room for an emergency c-section after 12 hours of labor. Her blood pressure had sunk to 30/60 and baby Nico’s heart rate had dropped to 80 from 155. Suddenly, the medical team went from one nurse to a whole roomful…
20 Minutes a Day 