’twas the night before Christmasand all through the house,not a creature was stirring, except all three of my kidsbecause they were too excited,thoughts of presents dancingin their sweet, little skulls…and my husband was up, too, eating up the Ghirardelli chocolate I’d bought for the mail carrier– oops, I guess she’ll be getting some of theseContinue reading “Waiting on St. Nick”
Category Archives: Motherhood
Safety Net
Balancing act above treetopsopen arms welcome home,not worried about the dangers, connections allowsurrender I wrote this poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #134 at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. This week’s prompt was provided by Jennifer, who asks us to do the following: I am fortunate to experience the carefree nature of my children every day.Continue reading “Safety Net”
MaMaWriMo
I belong to a Facebook group of mothers who are also writers, and they celebrate “Mama” WriMo every August in place of November’s NaNoWriMo. I think this concept is brilliant and, even though August isn’t the best time for me to do a lot of writing (it’s lesson-planning, back-to-school month), I was able to sneakContinue reading “MaMaWriMo”
Silence Bookended
glimmering skylinegrassy lakeside reflectionssilence bookended This was my favorite photo that I captured of our two youngest sons relaxing on a blanket while watching the city fireworks last weekend. They sat in awe, taking everything in, from the little girl sitting behind us with her family who offered them glowsticks before the display began toContinue reading “Silence Bookended”
Discovering the Why
My short essay “Discovering the Why” has been selected for social media publication with Wildfire Magazine’s Family April/May 2024 issue. I’m so grateful to have discovered Wildfire almost three years ago through a friend in a virtual AYA cancer support group. At the time, I was wrapping up cancer treatment and longing for a communityContinue reading “Discovering the Why”
Taproots
Burrowed underthe surface,secreted shadowsthat swirl sandand flooded landwith God’s hand.I’ll masquerade as a poeta little longer,learning to findmyself beneath my words, expose my owntaproots. Shortly into remission from stage three cancer, I was joking with my primary care physician: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” “Well,” she said, surprisingly hesitant. “It makes youContinue reading “Taproots”
Hot Chocolate’s Embrace
We coast down hills fluffy with nature’s reminiscence. Rays ofsun scramble acrossthe tree’s fragilelimbs. Light scatters taperedshadows on our hands andfaces despite the frigid air.Warm mugs of cocoainvigorate ussend a soothing humfrom the first, rich sipto the final dregs. I wrote this poem for the W3 prompt from the Skeptic’s Kaddish. Despite the cold weatherContinue reading “Hot Chocolate’s Embrace”
The Character of a Year
embrace small momentsweave them into memoriesa shawl of comfortbest worn in times of trialthe armor of endurance How do you characterize an entire year? One year holds so many ups and downs, tribulations and triumphs. I think we all did this with 2020, though; nobody says, “Oh, yeah, good ol’ 2020: best year ever!” IContinue reading “The Character of a Year”
Nontraditional NaNoWriMo Advice
At the end of October, I attended an asynchronous virtual writing conference from The Manuscript Academy. I knew that I’d been neglecting my writing and that I needed something akin to a giant writerly magnet to pull me back into that regular writing habit. It’s so tough, though! I was talking to a mom friendContinue reading “Nontraditional NaNoWriMo Advice”
Turtle’s Reverie
stopping for a breath the world set atop our back bowing like branches bathed in filtered mellow light sifting silent rivulet This week’s Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt from the Skeptic’s Kaddish comes from Lesley, who asks us to do the following: This weekend, we spent some time at my grandmother’s cabin, which is a coupleContinue reading “Turtle’s Reverie”
Words and Coffee Writing 