I once thought I could grow monkey people. The comic book ad promised underwater critters with a bald father, mother and two kid monkeys with gills on their chests and smiles on their faces. The mother monkey wore lipstick and a matching red bow in her hair. “So eager to please,” the ad read. “They… Read more
Adventures
When my husband went to his 20th high school reunion, he told his classmates I had stayed home with our newborn infant. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” said someone, sniggering. “I’m so glad we are done with that.” We often hear this since we were not able to have our second child until we were almost 40… Read more
I was cleaning windows this morning when I saw the cat grass I’ve considered planting for years. I thought, “It’s spring. I think I’ll do it this year. Seamus will like it. I started to even go down the path of why I haven’t planted it for all these years: He’d be more encouraged to… Read more
This Sunday, I’ll run my first organized 10k. As I type this first very rough draft out my race is sitting before me like a growling dog on a porch. I want to reach out and pet her but I am afraid she might bite my hand off. But even if I fall flat on the… Read more
I’ve spoken to a lot of people lately about why I blog but it occurred to me that writing my purpose into my blog might be a good idea, too. So, in the spirit of my 30 day blog revision and a belated New Year effort, here I am with a ‘purpose’ statement. I’m writing… Read more
The Seahawks and the words in a story. The two don’t seem to have much in common, but experiencing the buildup to the Superbowl within a few miles of Seattle’s epicenter has me thinking of crazy connections. Many years ago I took a fiction writing class through the University of Washington. The instructor and the… Read more
Last Monday, I sat in the dentist’s chair as he tried to break off the five year old ‘temporary cement’ on my front tooth, and I mentally cursed my 16 year old self for her carelessness. Sometime in the 1980’s I had ridden my bike down a hill thinking the most important thing was to… Read more
The pain started as my students finished their writing tests. It wasn’t unlike a lot of the pain I had been feeling lately in my gut — just more intense. I stood up to see if that would help as my last two students wrapped up their sentences and spoke to me about their worries… Read more