I opened the door on the second knock and extended a practiced, firm handshake. My hair was pulled back plainly, clothes were modest, and my face was void of both makeup and smiles. I was ready. “Keith Allen, KO Insulation” ...
When I sat down with the salesman, my eyes landed on a bobblehead Spider-Man sitting next to his computer monitor. I’d spent the last hour cleaning out Alice, crying, making fun of myself for crying while sending videos to my ...
During our 24 years of marriage, I never negotiated with the tradespeople who came to our house – the electricians, plumbers, septic guys, realtors. It was my husband, Jay, who spoke to them. I was polite, smiled, shook hands, signed ...
My father’s favorite canned advice, whenever he found me floundering in my academics (which was often) – was “Why don’t you just be a golfer. Women can make good money that way.” I’d no interest in golfing, nor had I ...
We have a choice when it comes to our own grief. We can deny it, stifle the tears, stuff it down, cover it over, and try to bury it. Or we can cry a river, sob, wail, pound our pillow ...
I missed my last blog post. I couldn’t find any words. I think maybe because I knew the first big day was fast approaching and I wanted to say whatever I could think of for this post. And now it’s ...
It’s strange to always be walking around with Kenny. I named it Kenny, because if something is going to hang out for this long, it ought to be named. I also asked Google, my therapist, and ChatGPT about it, all ...
Seven years. Seven years ago today you changed my life forever. I wouldn’t trade a second of any of it even if the outcome was the same. Not the hard moments and not the sad moments, all of them meant ...
Forecasts of the coming storm started flashing across social media about three days before it actually hit us, which gave me time to head to Walmart for supplies. My youngest daughter and I go backpacking a lot, so we dug ...
As a writer, I spend a lot of time alone, and a lot of time thinking - mostly contemplating life. Tonight, the holiday dinner is over, the kids and grandkids are all off on their merry way, and I sit ...