The internet is a funny thing. It can suck you into a time-consuming black hole of social media, leaving you informed on news you could have lived the rest of your life not knowing. Last year, I wrote “When 547 Facebook Friends + 832 Twitter Followers = A Negative Number.” It was about a beautiful friendship…
Some people are hard to love. Some people’s choices differ from ours. Their actions don’t make sense to us. Their beliefs are foreign to us. Some people are hard to love. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to love them anyway. It doesn’t mean they don’t deserve our love, our time, our compassion. When my…
“Lord, give me strength.” She pulled up to the house in the dark of night, cut off the engine, and leaned her head back against the seat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And so began her nightly ritual as she arrived home from her second job each night. She reached across…
When I get old, I hope to listen to the steady creak of the rocking chair beside me and know that you are still by my side on our front porch. I hope to look over and not only see the aged man you’ve become whose every wrinkle reflects my own, but also relive the stories…
I watched you from my seat in the second row of the right side of the auditorium. Your eyes scanned the room, row by row panning left and right, left and right. Hands in your pockets, you stood tall and attentive, fully aware your third grade performance would begin at any moment. You had the…
“I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with air, slowly lifting the weight that seconds earlier was crushing my chest. My relief at hearing his voice didn’t allow me to focus on his words. In his endless string of hurried phrases strung together with pauses to catch his own breath, I could only make out a…
‘Twas the night before Fabulous Blogging, when all through the HomeOnDeranged Every bloppy was blogging, even time-zoned Lizzi (not that she’s deranged) Pen Paper Pad laid on the desk with care In hopes that Hasty Words would soon be there Carrie Anne Foster and TwinDaddy nestled all snug in their beds (not together) While visions of Enchanted Seashells…
From a young age, we are taught to say please and thank you. Over and over, we are told to use our manners, thanking someone for inviting us over for a playdate, thanking someone when we are given a compliment. We are encouraged to say thank you when a treat is bestowed upon us and we…
People often ask me how I chose the name Leah Vidal as my pen name when Red Circle Days was published. Well…it’s my Starbucks name and not because they purposely misspell Leonor. I got tired of the barista stuttering when my coffee was ready or worse yet, not even trying to attempt my name at…
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie He was my introduction to so many things in life, my first in so many ways. He was my start line to events I never knew I wanted to experience, my cheerleader along the way, always…
LITTLE MISS WORDY 