Category: Stories & Fiction

  • A Hard Goodbye

    A Hard Goodbye

    Dear Tait, I remember when you came to us. It was Christmas. Well, you were too small to be there in flesh and blood so we pasted a picture inside of a book about dogs and gave it as a gift.  I wish you could’ve seen their faces, the kids, I mean, when they opened…

  • South Carolina

    South Carolina

    I’m sitting in my new home in my new town with boxes piled high around me watching my daughter and husband piece together a bookshelf for her room. I can’t believe I’m here. Can’t believe I live in a new state where I know exactly ten people, this number includes the lady at the local…

  • Country Living

    Country Living

    I am living the country life these days. Typing that sentence has me sitting here contemplating my life choices. How did I get here? Don’t get me wrong.  It’s really beautiful out here. I wake up to birds chirping and last week I saw a bunny hopping across the expanse of the yard.  I’ve seen…

  • What’s Next

    What’s Next

    It’s been a while since we’ve spoken.  So much has happened I find myself at a loss of where to start.  It’s like those moving sidewalks at the airport, you know the ones that help you to take two or three steps for every one unassisted by the moving belt. I feel like I’m walking…

  • Packing My Life Away

    Packing My Life Away

    Still in the middle of selling our house. The inspector has come. The appraiser has come. The termite guy comes next week. What I need now is a good psychiatrist. Maybe she’ll come next week too. I told my realtor selling a house is not for the faint of heart, she readily agreed. We’ve packed…

  • Twenty

    Twenty

    I’ve just recently passed an important milestone. I remember being a young woman with my life stretching out before me like an endless country road.  As the days went by I never really thought about what life would look life after my children were grown.  I just lived one day to the next taking care…

  • Cracker Barrel Conversations

    Cracker Barrel Conversations

    My husband and I had a meaningful conversation with one of our kids recently.  I still marvel that this human being, so big and handsome and full of life, started his journey inside of me.  There are times I look in the mirror and find I’m disappointed in the way I look.  Having babies, aging…

  • Growing Up, Up and Away

    Growing Up, Up and Away

    As a little girl I loved nothing more than being outdoors.  Trees beckoned to be climbed, rocks called out to be turned over, you never knew what treasure might lie beneath.  Most of the time it was an earth worm, but occasionally there’d be a penny and that was pure gold.  I loved to run,…

  • What a Year!

    What a Year!

    I still have a calendar on my fridge.   A real life paper one.  Yes, I’m still one of the last Mohicans who hasn’t recorded all of their lives on a cell phone.  Digital everything is the name of the game these days.  I’m sure it is very convenient to have your schedule right at your…

  • Silent Treatment

    Silent Treatment

    I never would have considered myself very competitive until recently.  I’m not sure if I’ve become more competitive or if I’ve just identified something that was always there.  Anybody else out there wonder if they’ve changed over time or if you just get to know yourself better as the years roll by? Being in a…

  • Holy Week

    Holy Week

    I love the week leading up to Easter.   In Christian circles it’s called “Holy Week.”  It’s become one of my favorite times of the year.  We have a unique tradition in our small town; I think it’s pretty isolated to this place as I’ve never heard of it anywhere else.  Each day at lunch hour…

  • Flying the Not So Friendly Skies, part 2

    Flying the Not So Friendly Skies, part 2

    The long weekend with my husband flew by.  We laughed, went to some new company training, dined out, saw some sights and then, in a blink, it was time to fly home. I was still a bit traumatized from my flight to Dallas. I had spent the better part of the weekend with a return…

  • Flying the Not So Friendly Skies

    Flying the Not So Friendly Skies

    I took a flight to Dallas recently.  That sounds so simple and unimportant really, BUT if you understood that flying makes me a nervous wreck, you might perk up a little and feel sorry for me.  You know it probably wouldn’t be worth noting that flying makes me jittery, it makes a lot of people…

  • All I Want for Christmas

    All I Want for Christmas

    I don’t know about you, but the holidays seem to come faster and faster to my front door.  I feel like I just put the Christmas tree away and wrapped up all the ornaments last week.  But, here I am, a year later, according to the calendar, dragging the boxes in from the garage and…

  • Fitness App

    Fitness App

    My husband bought me a fitness watch.  I’ve wanted one for a while but had NO IDEA how to begin shopping for one.   There are so MANY and I am completely impatient when it comes to sorting through the hundreds of different styles especially with each of them having about two hundred features.  I knew…

  • Life After Paradise

    Life After Paradise

    Last week will not go down in history as one of my favorites.  I know the Lord is trying to teach me something and it seems He has to wreak havoc to get my attention sometimes.  I’ve told you before how difficult it has been learning to cope with an empty nest.  The “parenting of…

  • Empty Nest = Emptiness

    Empty Nest = Emptiness

    The house is quiet now, unless you count the lapping sounds of our dog trying to quench her thirst on a hot Alabama summer afternoon. I am sitting on the couch with an ice cold glass of tea next to me pondering whether or not to make the dreaded trip to Wal Mart. There is…

  • The Last One

    The Last One

    The sun rose on this day like any other, except it wasn’t like any other.  This day we would drop our youngest at college.  Except unlike other years, I wasn’t just losing another child to higher education, I was closing the book on a season of my life.  All of these thoughts passed through my…

  • 25 Things I’ve Learned Being Married for Twenty Five Years

    25 Things I’ve Learned Being Married for Twenty Five Years

    Twenty five years ago two very young, some might argue too young, people stood before an altar and vowed to love each other “until death us do part.”  We had no idea what we were saying, at least I didn’t.  For me, standing there in a white dress with good hair and make-up was like…

  • The Waiting Room 

    The Waiting Room 

    I woke up at 5:30 this morning and stumbled into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. There’s just nothing better than the smell of roasted coffee beans in the wee hours before the sun comes up. Once I’d set the pot to brew, I walked back down the hall to my son’s…

  • My Alabaster Box 

    My Alabaster Box 

    I love the changing of the seasons. Oh, I have a favorite season, but there’s something really special about the changing of one season into another. Right now, where I live, spring is blooming more and more each day. The grass is starting to turn green, the bumble bees are feasting on the freshly opened…

  • Remembering: The Gift

    Remembering: The Gift

    It wasn’t too many days until number three came home from the emergency room, and the house was bustling again with three little girls. All felt righted in her little world. The end of the summer was near and she knew her days of freedom were numbered, she longed to explore this new place and…

  • Remembering:  The Realization 

    Remembering:  The Realization 

    Continued… But since her bottom was planted firmly to the old worn couch and her legs felt heavy like she had taken her jeans off the clothesline and put them on before they were dry, there was no way she could move. This perfect move-in had gone from glorious to dangerous more quickly than she…

  • Remembering: The Awakening (the story continues)

    Remembering: The Awakening (the story continues)

    She could tell by the murmuring and concerned faces around her that something pretty bad must’ve happened, but nobody would tell her what it was. All of the sudden momma grabbed the hand of her and sister and hurried to the car. Daddy jumped in the driver’s seat, shut the car door hard and sped…

  • Remembering: The Awakening part 1

    Remembering: The Awakening part 1

    She woke up before the sun and pressed her face against the glass pane trying hard to make out the outline of the big truck sitting in front of their single wide. Momma had been packing for weeks and their belongings were reduced to what seemed like countless cardboard boxes. The day was finally here.…

  • Remembering: The Simple Joys

    Remembering: The Simple Joys

    She jumped out of bed, not a care in the world. The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful backdrop for the white cotton ball shaped clouds that polka dotted the blue expanse. She flew to the bathroom, pretended to brush her teeth, pushed her hair out of her face and forced the unruly…

  • Doing Hard Things, the end

    Doing Hard Things, the end

    I told you before that I am not a fan of flying.  The Lord helped me so much when we flew TO Europe, I figured I would face the flight home when I got to it.   What might be a little surprising is I don’t have a fear of fast moving trains.  I mean, not…

  • Doing Hard Things, the middle

    Doing Hard Things, the middle

    Eight and a half uneventful hours later we touched down in Europe. Hallelujah! Solid ground! I have never been to Europe so this was and is a VERY BIG DEAL. I gathered all my things, and limped off of the plane like the hunchback of Notre Dame under the weight of my backpack. Then came…

  • Doing Hard Things, the beginning

    Doing Hard Things, the beginning

    I am a little bit of a “scaredy-cat.” I’m just going to confess that right here and now.   I try really hard not to be and I constantly remind myself that I need to push past it and keep trying new things, hard things, lots of things. But, there is always this little voice inside…

  • The Kindness of Others

    The Kindness of Others

    I am so keenly aware of kindness as I travel this week. I am in a foreign country and I only know one person besides the friend who’s traveling with me. I am unfamiliar with the transportation system and do not know a word of the language. I am carrying a large backpack and a…

  • Learning to Cope

    Learning to Cope

    Part Two He left for training in the middle of the night, well, it was still dark anyway. He arrived already tired from lots of recent travel, but ready to learn and get this thing behind him. It was a new year and a new opportunity to put God to the test. He had prayed,…

  • Learning to Cope

    Learning to Cope

    Part One My husband is a pilot. Many of you already know that, but for those who don’t, he flies for a regional airline and is very good at what he does. With a job this intense, you might guess there is a lot of training, and you’d be right. And with airline pilot training…

  • #Churchladies Take On Bible Retreat

    #Churchladies Take On Bible Retreat

    This weekend was unforgettable. Why, you ask? I loaded up with twenty other ladies, all middle-aged just like me, and headed to see my favorite Bible teacher in a neighboring town. We borrowed a bus and talked one of the ladies into driving us. The bus ride is always one of my favorite parts, we…

  • The Observers

    The Observers

    I am a people watcher; I just am. I’m coming to terms with it, and even learning to embrace it. One of my favorite things is to go to a large airport, find an off the beaten path bench, and just observe. I know, it sounds weird, but I am a lover of humanity and…

  • In the Middle

    In the Middle

    I had a coworker ask me today if I was in my thirty’s and I wanted to kiss her, seriously, or at least give her a big bear hug. I’m definitely in the middle of the forty’s, middle aged is how I refer to myself these days. I’m the middle child, I’m of an average…

  • Success

    Success

    Recently I had a meaningful conversation with my sons about living up to their full potential; working hard and making sacrifices in order to be successful. At those young ages you think success will be easy and attainable. I mean, if you work hard enough or come up with the next great idea you could…

  • Anger

    Anger

    I was venting to my husband this morning about a situation that was so upsetting to me. As my momma used to say, “It aggravated the stew out of me.”   I could see so clearly what needed to be done and could not for the life of me understand why that was so hard for…

  • Reminiscing

    Reminiscing

    Today my dad and I had a good laugh while sipping diet coke and eating ham sandwiches. We were discussing the different types of cars we’ve driven over the years. There were some doozies! First, you have to know my dad to really appreciate what I am about to tell you.  He loves cars, all…

  • The Good Life

    The Good Life

    I am sitting at the front of an ocean liner looking out over the most beautiful expanse of blue one could ever lay their eyes upon. I’ve been told this part of the ship is called the bow. (That’s for you curious ones out there.) The wind is lightly blowing my hair and I’m nice…

  • The Rope Swing

    The Rope Swing

    We are almost to the end of the school year, and we’re exhausted. This year has had its highs and lows and, honestly, I’m ready for summer. So many times in years past we get to the very end of the school calendar and I find myself sad and not wanting to admit the obvious;…

  • Boy Talk

    Boy Talk

    We had a wonderful weekend following our high school junior up to Montgomery for track sectionals.  It is very surreal that this is my youngest child and he is winding up his second-to-last year of high school.  I have LOVED following my three kids around for the last sixteen years.  Sometimes I wonder what I…

  • The Days of Innocence

    The Days of Innocence

    I can still remember so clearly the long days of childhood summer. Back when you stayed out until dark and the neighborhood kids played kickball in the street. We used to climb a tree that had grown awkwardly on the empty lot down the street. We called it the “walking tree” because you could literally…

  • Sweet Young Love

    Sweet Young Love

    I love weddings, I love engagements; I love anything that has to do with celebrating young love. My husband and I have prayed for our children and the person whom will one day steal their hearts since they were born. We’ve prayed for so many things, but this is so very important because it impacts…

  • Second Fiddle

    Second Fiddle

    As the story was recounted to me it was cold, very cold. It was early morning and he was in no mood to be running a race, especially one that felt like the Rocky Mountains. For a cross country runner from Alabama, the hills of Tennessee seemed very daunting. But, nevertheless there he stood, shivering…

  • Coffee Shop Talk

    Coffee Shop Talk

    Oh my goodness, I am so excited about my current surroundings. I have always wanted to be one of those interesting people that sit in a coffee shop and work on their computer. So often I wonder what they are typing away about. Is it a blog? Or something for work? Are they secretly saving…

  • Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

    Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

    A few nights ago our carbon monoxide detector went off.   It is a device that acts like a smoke detector but it alarms when there is a possibility of carbon monoxide, not smoke. We have a gas furnace and I have always been a little leery of the chance of a gas leak. Well, back…

  • The Most Magical Weekend, Well, Sort Of… (Part 2)

    The Most Magical Weekend, Well, Sort Of… (Part 2)

    Now, let me see, where did I leave you in the story last time? That’s right, she was headed back to Magic Kingdom to finish out the day. All the while hoping and praying that her luggage would show up. Before she left, the manager at the hotel told her there was a good chance…

  • The Most Magical Weekend, Well, Sort Of…

    The Most Magical Weekend, Well, Sort Of…

    I’d been up since early morning praying and worrying and praying some more. My daughter was on the road headed to the airport at three thirty in the morning. Why do airports need two hours to punch your name into the computer and send you to security? And why does security need so much time…

  • I Can’t Believe You’re Seventeen

    I Can’t Believe You’re Seventeen

    Today we celebrate a milestone. A day I hoped would take its time. But, time is exactly what brought us to it. Sometimes I can’t decide if time is my enemy or my friend. But, as the old adage goes, it keeps marching on. Seventeen. I walked into your room this morning to wake you…

  • Small Church Life

    Small Church Life

    My whole life has been steeped in small church life. The kind where everybody knows everybody else. You laugh at inside jokes and notice when Sister Sue or Brother John is missing. The same few people are elected to the church board and dinner on the ground is a familiar term. The pastor shakes hands with everyone…