Writer, Author & Speaker
My four favorite books of 2024 were surprisingly all non-fiction. Typically I favor fiction over non-fiction, reading more and finishing more fiction books than non in a given year. While this still held true for my overall 2024 reading year, my favorites were 3 memoirs and a biography. As I contemplated this, it wasn’t surprising. …
Will I ever get over the thrill of a plane taking off the ground? I hope I never do. I love sitting by the window and watching the ground get further and further away. I experienced this again just a few days ago when my husband and I flew to NYC to visit our oldest …
The line was long last Thursday. It was the last day of early voting. It took just shy of 2 hours to cast my vote. As I waited, I noticed that most of us looked at our phones but some of us must have been talking because there was a murmur. It was low and …
Happy First Anniversary to “Mondays by Midnight.” A year ago I challenged myself to write something and post it online each week by midnight on Mondays. I figured giving myself a deadline would encourage me to do it. The midnight deadline soon gave way to finishing it before I went to bed. Which then gave …
A guitar hangs on the wall. Its broken string testifies that it’s been awhile since anyone strummed it. The half-marathon medals still clang a little bit when the rocking chair hits them even though it’s been a couple of years since I’ve run at all, much less run a race that handed out a medal. …
In honor of my birthday — which was three days ago — here are five tidbits of trivia about me (in no particular order): I spent the last 20 years educating all four of my children at home. It was a great fit for our family. I loved it (not every minute of every day …
We met in the city where our friendships began. We came from Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Minnesota to spend 48 hours together. Back in the day, we forged our friendships through homework, tests, first kisses, prom dresses, broken hearts, early morning bible studies, and late night slumber parties. We went rollerskating & sledding. …
I tried to capture the moon in the picture. To my eye it was full and bright. To the camera it was faint. In a few of my photos you can’t see the moon at all. You can barely see it in this one. And isn’t this true with other things in life as well— …
I pulled weeds and raked a little patch of greenery in our backyard today. I call it greenery because very little of it resembles grass but the weeds are still very green. It made me think of the lush green lawn of my mom and dad’s house of my growing up years. I miss being …
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Storybook, Lost Timber, and Horton Haven you each have a place in my heart From my first love to my current love From two weeks at a time to visiting for a day From cleaning bathrooms to washing pots and pans From leading cabins to …