Pippi

January 29, 2025.Reading time 3 minutes.

Pippi was so nervous the day she arrived at our home in her little dog crate. Her brother had no problem sniffing out his new domain and blessing us with a tail wag, but Pippi made a beeline for our then 8-year-old granddaughter and stayed put. All eleven pounds of her shook with fear. For […]

Rewrite

May 22, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Lives are built around the stories we are told. If we have any sense of creativity, at all, we will rewrite those stories to broaden the scope of possibility. I told a former suitor once that I was not destined to be loved. It was the story I had been told growing up. Smarter than […]

Kindness is always appropriate

April 17, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

I offer our Ukrainian guest the last pot of chocolate dessert that had been dropped off that morning by a fellow Ukrainian. “There are fresh raspberries, too!” I add, gifted from another. She pauses, and then shakes her head. “Maybe tomorrow. I had sweet today.” And then she bursts out crying. I reach for my […]

The Tour Guide

March 6, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A few years back, I took a fictional writing course. The featured image is an excerpt from my final piece. Clicking on the link should take you to the original for the whole story. Thanks for reading!

Tantrums

January 10, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

The discussion was light, or so I thought. Until I mentioned that one thing that ignites his rage. Doesn’t matter what it is, does it? We all have it – that tender spot of unresolved emotion. There was no more talking to him, so I moved on; finishing a task I had previously started. But now my anger flared. He […]

Recipe For Love

November 15, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Relationships are complicated. Each generation, it seems, struggles to find the answers. My tanka is a one observation. What would you add?

Priceless

August 25, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A baby brings so many things into perspective, especially the importance of love and connection. For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: MasterCard: There are some things money can’t buy.

Serenity, Love, and Gratitude

May 12, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The moods conveyed by these images. For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: moods

Love is…

February 1, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Things I Learned From Christmas

December 29, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Attire does not an occasion make (referring to the 5-year-old in pjs). Age doesn’t matter when in the presence of loved ones. Engagement is everything. Stories and memories never grow old. Love prefers to congregate in small spaces. Dogs share their affection equally. (Thanks to my husband for capturing these moments.)

Where Are The Dogs?

Contemplating risk –a reunion with a former selflooking for an exit When did I become a snakerestrained?When did I become persona non grata? I slither between storiesconvince myself I can flydistraction a ruse I have big cat energyoverstepping boundariessocially adverse A faulty jeweldreaming of abundance but there’s a dragon to disarm My mother’s burden on my […]

Turning (tanka)

Mother

When I had a mothermy hair would cascadein curls of auburn perfectiona red velvet bow to accentuate the wave And I’d wear my bestnewly sewn frockwith lace at the neckand fishnet stockingsand patent Mary Janes And the girls giggling with delightwould skip hand-in-handto the school promand the boys shyly perchedagainst the back wall would wonderhow […]