I am terrible at puzzles.I always have been. Growing up, I opted for a notebook and pencils over things that needed to be assembled. Blank paper is my friend: I can move the pencil across it and draw my image or use words to paint a story for my reader. Anything that involves following directions… Continue reading Sketches

If you’ve ever heard the song Over You by Miranda Lambert – specifically, the first verse and chorus – you have a really good idea of how my year has felt: “Weather man says it’s gonna snow/ By now I should be used to the cold/ Mid-February shouldn’t be so scary/ It was only December, I still… Continue reading Ripples

I have five tattoos. Five. All different, and all kind of the same. Each is mine, holding meaning and promise. Every now and again someone will ask me if I’m getting a new one, and the answer is usually filled with uncertainty. Maybe, maybe not, probably not, possibly. I think my poor mother will crucify… Continue reading Alis Volat Propriis

We’ve all been there: so overwhelmed with anger and frustration that, in spite of our best efforts, we just can’t hold it in for another second. And then it happens, as we are powerless to stop it: we lose our shit. Yesterday was what you might call a let-down. Big disappointment. I’ll go one step… Continue reading Eruptions

  This moment played through my mind a million times last night. I can still see the lights of the delivery room, feel my mom’s anticipation and J’s tension. I can feel the fear I had when the whisked my son away from me without even letting me see him, and the relief that… Continue reading 7:55