About

This photograph doesn’t tell the whole story.

Despite my smile, I felt miserable. I loved the dress, but the net petticoat scratched. Early proofs show me pouting. This shot was snapped when the photographer jollied me up with puppets.

Here’s something else you can’t see. I’d already decided to be a wife, mother, and author.

I was certain of my destiny.

Decades passed.

I was a high school teacher, college administrator, bookstore clerk, advertising copywriter, newspaper and radio book reviewer.

But I felt as uneasy as I did with that scratchy petticoat. My plan wasn’t working as intended.

Destiny’s rhythm didn’t care about my timeline.

One by one, I found the husband in Oklahoma, the daughter in China, and the editor in New York.

When I look at this photograph now, I see my bright, determined eyes, eyes that had to learn destiny finds its own way.