This Life...
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Sunday Snippet: The Warehouse Club Edition, + Fun News!
Hiya, happy Sunday. It’s snowing here in the city (probably up at the lake cottage, too, from the look of the radar), and I am snug in our little brick house enjoying this view. I love snow. It makes me want hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace, a soft snuggly sweater, and a good book. And speaking of good books… See what I did there? It’s called a transition or a segue. It’s an author trick to lead readers to the next part of the story. That one wasn’t very subtle, but it’s fun to practice the art. Anyway, speaking of good books, I want to crow a…
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Sunday Snippet: The I Got Nothin’ Edition
So the scene is this: mid-morning at my desk. I’m looking out the office window where a crimson cardinal is perched on the lamp post in my garden. The skies are gray and dreary and cold, so I’m resisting the urge to go outside and get my steps in anyway. Besides, that means I’d actually have to rise from my chair and I’m disinclined. It’s been a long, very hard winter so far and not particularly because of the weather. That part’s been pretty typical of a Midwestern winter–some snow, some bitter cold days, some surprisingly warm ones. No, it’s not the weather, although I have to confess I’d much…
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Sunday Snippet: The My Language Is Deteriorating Edition
My language is deteriorating. No s#*t—it really is! I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I have a good vocabulary. My mom insisted we have extensive vocabularies and use them appropriately. We played word games voraciously when I was kid—Scrabble, Boggle, Probe—and to this day, family gatherings include word games. I’m a whiz at spelling, and usually if someone asks me what a word means, I can come up with the correct definition without running to a dictionary. My grasp of language and its appropriate use is part of why I’m a damn good copy editor (I have clients who’ll testify, honest!). I adore discovering new words and finding…
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Sunday Snippet: The It’s Almost the New Year Edition
2025 is nearly upon us. A new year should never bring a feeling of dread and yet… here we are. We are living in chaotic and scary times, and I keep thinking what can I do? My stomach roils at the thought of what’s happening in Washington (not much, thanks to a do-nothing off-the rails House) and how divided we are as a nation. I have to have faith in my fellow Americans–that we will come together against the crazy that’s happening in politics. We must be proactive, to mobilize against the far right’s obsession with an autocrat and oligarchs. So, there’s that… But what can I do? I actually…
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Sunday Snippet: The Holiday Music and Joy Edition
Despite struggling financially, my mom always made the holidays a treat for me and my sibs. We always had a Christmas tree, the house was always filled with the scent of cookies baking and there was always, always music. Oh, the music of it all! Mom would go to the Firestone store or to the Marathon gas station every year and pick up their annual Christmas album to play on our old console stereo. Remember when a record player was a piece of furniture? And when holiday record albums that were like 99 cents or at most $1.99? We had them all. I can still sing every song… I loved…
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Sunday Snippet: The Weeping Time Edition
It’s almost December 19, and the 10-year anniversary (what a strange word to use in this context) of losing my sister Kate. Wicked cancer stole her from us too soon. PJ and I both still maintain that a third of us is missing, and that is so very true. But this part of December–the first couple of weeks have become a gray time for me since Kate’s passing. I’m not sure if it’s the anticipation of the anniversary or the starting the holidays without her…again, but I am weepy and sad and wishing desperately that she was here. So many times since December 19, 2014, I’ve thought, okay, now it’s…
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Sunday Snippet: The It’s a Mom Thing Edition
This Thanksgiving weekend, when we were all together as family, I realized something significant. It wasn’t startling, but I saw it in all the parents/grandparents who sat around my sister’s huge, but cozy table. It’s this. We never ever stop being parents—once you have a child, you’re signed up for life and beyond. We moms suffer just as much when our child struggles at age 45 as we did when they fell and broke their arm at age 5. I once heard that a mother is only as happy as their unhappiest child. I don’t know if that’s true or not because I only have one, but I do know…
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Sunday Snippet: The River’s Edge Is Happening Edition
I’m old enough to remember when people would say something was “happening.” You know, like “it’s a happening place”? I’m not sure when that phrase started or when it stopped being part of the vernacular, but this past week, my little town of River’s Edge, Indiana, was a happening place–for real. Let me explain… River’s Edge, my fictional town on the Ohio River, is inspired by a real town on the Ohio River called Madison, Indiana. Madison is a lovely place, filled with history and culture and art and wonderful kind folks. It’s one of my very favorite places to visit, and when I wanted a setting for my sweet,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Deep Sigh Edition
Every morning, I meditate. I sit in the wing chair in the dark living room, and I use an app called Insight Timer to begin each day. I find that the meditations offered there help me get through the day. One of the things the teachers there talk about is our breath. How we breathe affects so much of how we feel. When Husband and I took a yoga class several years, we learned to focus on “the breath.” That was where I learned the in for four, hold for four, out for four, which I depend on when the world goes mad and I feel like screaming. The instructors…
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Sunday Snippet: The Focusing Elsewhere for a Minute Edition
This week, writing, finding my creative escape has been really hard as current events have overwhelmed me. But if I am the writer that I claim to be, that I want to be, shouldn’t I be able to write, no matter what? I always maintain that writing is essential to who I am and it is, but there are days, now and again, where I want the people in my head to just sit quietly for just a little bit, while I take a deep breath and recenter. So, I’ve been focused elsewhere the past couple of days–getting ready to close up the lake cottage. It’s November 10 and it’s…