Dear friends, Several of you have reached out to me over the past few weeks and asked if Ray and I are okay and whether our family is doing fine. I hadn’t realized that my taking a writing hiatus would cause concern, and I will admit I have been deeply touched to hear from old…
Tag: life
For Father’s Day: A Pure and Constant Love
I wrote this piece a while back, but it still reflects how I feel about my father. I wanted to share it today to honor my dad’s memory. My dad was fifty when I was born. I was the lucky recipient of an adoring father who never wavered in his constant love and attention. I…
Who You Calling a Hoe?
A woman and her new hoe. That’s me. Yes, a hoe. Not just any hoe, however. A Husky 51″ fiberglass-handled garden hoe with a 4.5-star rating and 933 reviews on the Home Depot site. And no, I didn’t order it online. Ray and I went to Home Depot in Oxnard to purchase said hoe, along…
The Gift of Writing Together
One of the most nourishing parts of my life is the writing groups I participate in. These communities mean a great deal to me. There is some overlap between two of the four groups. Two are free-writing groups based on prompts, with twelve- to twenty-minute writing sessions; one is a critique group; and one is…
My “Baby” Bridegroom: 46 Years Ago Today
Ray and I got married 46 years ago today, when I was 27, and he was 22. Yes, call me a cradle robber if you must. The first photos are of our official wedding, performed by a county judge in Mountain View, Arkansas. We had a tiny wedding with seven people invited, and seven more…
The Comfort of Daily Routines
Another thing I find grounding and nourishing in my life is very simple: the small routines of everyday life. Yes, plain old routines. That means making my bed every morning—not because I enjoy making my bed (I don’t), but because I like how the bedroom looks when it’s made. I also love climbing into a…
The Sweetness of an Ordinary Friday
Today, Ray, Ethan, and I traveled early to our daughter Rachael, son-in-law Andrew, and baby Milo’s house in Covina, where we were later joined by Ethan’s mom and dad, our daughter Liz, and son-in-law Ron. Our original plan was to travel together to South Pasadena and spend the day at our daughter Sarah and son-in-law…
What Nourishes Me: A June Experiment
Hi all, I’ve decided that for the month of June, I’m going to try a new writing approach. I’m going to spend twenty minutes each day focusing on one thing in my life that nourishes me, steadies me, or helps me regain perspective. As a country, we have been walking through a difficult time lately,…
In Memory of a Special Man on the Anniversary of his Death
Today, my niece Kevin sent me a text message: “Visiting a special place today.” Here is the photo she sent: This is the labyrinth at Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, which was made possible in part by donations from Kevin’s dad’s friends and family. E. Ray was a special person who had a…
Happy Belated Birthday, 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 Oleg Cassini perfume, vo5 hair conditioner, and CoverGirl face powder. Also, I loved her “look.” She always wore slacks, a top, and a jacket no matter if it were…
