As I watched my daughter’s tiny face inspect the mysterious box, I was overcome with the memories of Christmases past. How could an intangible recollection hold such a physical presence, wrapping me in a warm glow while simultaneously strangling me in an icy dread, especially on Christmas morning? Christmas morning. It wasn’t like any Christmas…
I may as well have been standing before them stripped naked. That’s how exposed I felt. The soldiers had announced their arrival with a loud pounding on the front door of our home. A few days prior, my husband and I had begun the official paperwork requesting permission to leave the only country we had…
The darkness was all around me. I had been trained to stay in my room and wait for my mom to come to me. It never took my mom long, but to me it always felt like an eternity. The blackouts had begun a few weeks ago, but I still wasn’t used to them. At…
At the age of 30, he was living his dream as a writer and journalist. He had always loved writing. As a child, he had spent countless hours creating stories with the vivid imagination afforded those of a young age. He wrote about adventure, mystery, and romance. His favorite stories were about heroes who saved…
Photo credit: cibercuba.com It was just a matter of time. She could feel it in her bones. The rumors had been swirling for months, and while she didn’t want to believe them, in her heart she knew. As she shifted items on the grocery store shelves, in an effort to make them a little fuller,…
The airport felt more like an amusement park with people lined up elbowing their way to the front of the rollercoaster line. I slowly shuffled forward a couple of steps at a time. Normally, I love people watching, creating stories in my head for the elderly couple holding hands behind me or the young mom…
America is Freedom. Freedom is America. Freedom has been America’s guiding light for those who have come before us. Now, it must shine brighter than ever for those who are yet to come. Freedom requires strength. It requires boldness. Freedom requires sacrifice, and it requires grace because it is often in grace that we find…
Althea, September 1966 “James, are you out there?” Althaea and James let go of each other and sat up straight. “It’s okay,” James whispered. “It’s just my mother.” “Your mother?” I didn’t think my heart could beat any faster than it did when I put my head on James shoulder just a few minutes earlier,…
JAMES Ecclesiastes 1:8 No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. I sat at the library table, waiting for Althaea to choose her latest books to check out, and wondered what it was about this girl that intrigued me. She was different, that…
The back porch hadn’t been invaded yet, so I took up residence there. Since the funeral, the house had been consistently full of people dropping off food and paying their respects. It was strange to see my mother interacting with a room full of strangers, though they all seemed to know her quite well. I tried…
ALTHAEA – September, 1966 I could feel his eyes on me. I pretended I was reading, but every few minutes I would casually glance up to see him watching me from across the room. When he stood, I bolted. James Porter. I had heard there was a new kid in school. I didn’t usually bother…
The void is expanding. Since quarantining and social distancing became the buzz words of 2020, responsible folks all across the globe have found a new normal. The void is expanding. Instead of beginning the day with a trip to the gym, treadmills across the world are being dusted off and showered with infinite attention by…
My hands trembled. The journal slipped to the ground. The way Mrs. Carmichael described my grandmother, always writing, mad me believe this journal was hers. I let the reality register for a moment. This was my mother’s journal. My parents first met when they were just a couple of years older than me. They lived…
Althaea- September, 1966 I saw him exiting the park on his bicycle. He was surrounded by a light that drew my eyes from the sidewalk cracks I was studying as I made my way to the grocery store. I watched him from afar feeling an unfamiliar quiver in my stomach. I’m not one to get…
LITTLE MISS WORDY 