On Friday, I woke up a teacher for the last time in the foreseeable future. My classroom is now boxed in my carport storage, an easy fit. The question was what to do with my rolling teacher desk. My principal called it the Cadillac of carts, I called it my classroom on wheels, and my students called it fidget toy one-stop-shopping. I unpacked it in the carport, put the screws back in, looked around at the sea of green and blue country, heard the birds, felt the breeze, and realized I’d unlocked the greatest writing real estate.
Hopeful
The Love Bungalow
They say home is where the heart is… but when you live alone, what makes a house a home? When I moved into this three-bedroom rental property eleven months ago, I filled it with furniture full of memories. My grandmother’s dining room table, bookshelves built by one grandfather, the desk on which my other grandfather … Continue reading The Love Bungalow
Compromises, Coleus Plants, and Climbing Vines
Compromise. We internalize this term with both positive and negative connotations as little children. Compromise is a common strategy at my brother’s dinner table. My nephew J.J. announces that he is full and ready for dessert. My sister-in-law explains that if he has room for dessert, he is not full, and therefore needs to finish … Continue reading Compromises, Coleus Plants, and Climbing Vines
A White Wicker Loveseat
One needn’t look at a calendar tonight to know summer has arrived in Hampton. The sun has yet to set, the temperature is in the nineties, the neighbors are packing fishing gear into their truck, and Mrs. Washington two doors down is watering her garden. At seventy-six years old, her body is so ridden with … Continue reading A White Wicker Loveseat
Counsel and Clovers
After consulting with Kathy at Home Depot, the bushes that frame my front porch are azaleas, which turn out to be my grandfather’s favorite. The 75 degree sunny Saturday just past found me on my knees in my garden beds wrenching out weeds. Though I had spent hours carefully researching and buying plants for my … Continue reading Counsel and Clovers
I Used to Be
I used to be a writer and a poet and a novelist. And a singer. And an actress. And a media tech. And a computer repair geek. I used to be a little sister and a big sister, a babysitter, a housekeeper, a business owner, a gardener, a receptionist at a hair salon, an intern … Continue reading I Used to Be
Writer's Growth 