The wallpaper on my cell phone is a photo I took of my niece when she was about six months old. She was strapped into her car seat, my sister was navigating Los Angelos traffic, and I was digitally capturing the sadness of an infant. Perhaps not my finest moment as an auntie, but babies […]

Read more "Oh Baby, It’s Not So Bad"

You never know when a phone call is going to alter your life. It should reasonably follow then that you cannot “dread” something if you cannot “know” when in the future it might manifest. Linguistically, this might me true; however in practical terms, I disagree. I think it is perfectly reasonable to dread a future […]

Read more "The Dreaded Phone Call"

While the shedding of the skin of a snake happens consistently during the growth period of a snake’s life, there can be found an analogous “shedding” in the lives of humans as well. Sometimes it’s a simple as moving from one part of the country to another. For example, if one moves from Wisconsin to […]

Read more "The Process of Shedding"

Before school was out in June, I sent off pages from my revised manuscript to a literary agency I’d convinced myself would be a very good fit for me. The agency works with authors whose books I’ve read and the agents, by way of their biographies, appeared to be the sorts of folks with whom […]

Read more "The Risk of Rejection"

In any average day, you can find me reading non-fiction essays that focus primarily on erudite topics that integrate philosophy, social justice, feminism, politics, creativity, and mindfulness. These writings infuse my thoughts and percolate for a while, then after some time and distillation, they shed some parts, merge others, and emerge after being  translated through the […]

Read more "Victimhood, Agency, and a Discovery"

Many parents are celebrating the return of their children to the care and education of school. With these school-age kiddos back on the bus and gone for the day, mothers and fathers are free of the summer chants of “Let’s go someplace today” and “There’s nothing to do here.” While painful to fork over several […]

Read more "Back to School Blues"

Every day I am expected to stand on one foot, hold the other one out in front of me by the big toe, and not fall over. The goal is to remain still during a the five-breath time frame as that is the duration of the pose. When I first started, I fell over. That […]

Read more "The Tipping Point"

The last weekend in July was spent doing some things that I normally avoid: sitting in the sun without SPF protection, eating too many sweets, and complaining about a pulled muscle. I wasn’t really bothered by my cavalier, gluttonous, and self-pitying behavior because August was starting on Monday along with my intention to have a […]

Read more "There’s a Hole in the Bucket(List)"

For the last little while, it has seemed as though everything I attempt is met with a giant roadblock. Every offer and invitation is ignored or declined; every suggestion and thought gets passed over with a shrug or distraction. It could be the season. The lazy days of summer can become a vehicle for complacency […]

Read more "Just When It Seems Time to Stop"

Prolific and accomplished authors tend to recommend that a writer’s creative space be devoid of any stimulus in order to keep the writer focused solely on the work. I tried that for a while: bare walls, clutter-free desktop, seat facing away from the window. Although I understand the advice, those prolific and accomplished authors must […]

Read more "Surround Yourself with Life"