I slow down as I turn the corner and scan Lake Abby. Something dark floats at the far end. Not a goose. Maybe a mallard. But I can’t be sure. It looks black. I smash forefoot to floor, fly down asphalt, jerk wheel to left, spin gravel in drive, and ram gear into park. When […]
when you’re crushed and broken
It’s just the two of us for dinner. I scrounge up some chicken, left over from the chicken-with-cherry-sauce recipe from A Taste of Laity Lodge. Only for her, I serve it plain with bottled Hawaiian sauce and no cherries and a broken breadstick with pizza sauce. She skips the asparagus. Then she trades the chicken […]
haiti: when it’s time to say goodbye
We’ll say goodbye today. I make construction paper cards before we go. Erica’s brought a printer and given me a couple mini photos–one of Sophonie and me, and one of Chilanchi and me. I stick them to the paper. “Jezi renmen ou,” I write. “Mwen renmen ou.” Jesus loves you. I love you. It’s our […]
belief: maybe we spell it all wrong
He posted the question on Facebook. How many of you honestly believe god is real? I look out at birds perched in stripped branches that in just a couple of months will pop pink. Browns will gush green, the sun will beat warm, and the air will hang heavy with the fragrance of lilacs […]
encouragement: i missed it
The letters, they come every Christmas, faithful as the sunrise, shedding light on their lives. We’ve known each other for over 40 years when we worked together, and she encouraged the cute “detail man” to ask me out. I say “told.” He says “suggested.” She says “encouraged.” We visited them in Fort Rucker and then in […]
when you’re breadless, broken, and bitter
Breadless in Bethlehem. The House of Bread battled famine. Yet though she was hungry, Naomi felt full. She had her loved ones. Elimelech, whose name meant “my God is king,” packed up his wife and two sickly sons. They traveled 30 miles to a foreign land to greener pastures. Away from family. Away from […]
Ready or Not
I’ve had months to get ready. But I’m not ready. I google “animals in Haiti,” “birds in Haiti,” “snakes in Haiti.” and “Haitian culture.” I immerse myself inFlickr‘ed blue and red and green and pink gingerbread architecture and cough from dust rising in YouTubevideos. I wonder if I’ll have to eat goat.
Still Grappling with Grief
One year ago yesterday, my mother died. I’m angry. And sad. And grateful. I’m remembering, second-guessing every decision. Immediately after her fall and diagnosis of a brain tumor, she spent several weeks in a local nursing home. She was not safe for surgery at that point. After the biopsy, she transferred to rehab where […]
31 Days of Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 30: When You’re Feeling Weathered and Worn
I saw her for the first time today. She’s sat there for probably 150 years, and I’ve passed her by 150 times–or more. I don’t know what caught my eye on this gray misty day. I don’t know what forced me to halt the Journey half on road, half in ditch and gaze on her […]
31 Days to Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 17: I Don’t Want to Lose My Legacy
After she died, we found it tucked in the magazine rack next to the recliner, still encased in its wrinkled manila mailing envelope, its crisp pages blank. Her favorite childhood toy, her most embarrassing moment, how she met her husband never recorded. We’d given it to her two years before. My mother-in-law was the family […]
