[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…

I said nothing at the time. At a children's birthday party, a mother announced her four-year-old son had asked for trumpet lessons. Several parents complimented the boy's interest in music. "No!" she responded. "I'm not listening to hours of trumpet practice! I told him he could learn the violin or piano." I felt terrible for…

In the days approaching Christmas, life is sporadically peaceful. While kitchen multi-tasking, I set a sheet of parchment paper on fire. No cookies were lost. Our dog Maria recently took a fall and couldn't walk, landing her at the vet's with us carrying her in by towel sling. Two weeks ago I undertook a harrowing…

{From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…

[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…

Cliff and I faced buying a new car recently. We drove several and talked with the salesman. When things started sounding serious, he called in the money person. She presented options. The conversation finally ended. He handed us his business card. She scribbled her phone number on a post-it note. Over several days, Cliff called…

If you look up the expression, it's either God or the Devil in those details. It was God in my house. My mother always said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing well." She ironed sheets and pillowcases, each bed made with six inches of top sheet folded neatly over the blanket. Her garden was an…

In my years with Cliff, I've seen this happen numerous times in public places. A tearful child will walk up to him and announce: "I can't find my mommy." Cliff gets down on his knee and says, "We'll find her." Then he takes that small hand and looks for the information counter or customer service.…

My mother-in-law Mary Jo and I had one common reference point: Cliff. Her son, my husband. Even then, we would have disagreed across the board on his welfare. Pick a topic, any topic. We were decidedly different women. However, I did learn something valuable from her. She told me once about a lost opportunity with…

I'm a Midwestern girl through and through, having lived in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. With all three states side-by-side on the American map, I grew up believing we were the cornfield coastline. Folks in seashore states gazed at the ocean from their lawn chairs, but on my relatives' farms, outdoor seating faced the…

In first grade, Maggie stopped loving books. The language arts program used skill-and-drill instruction followed by multiple-choice testing to determine progress. No matter how often Cliff and I presented our case on her behalf, the teacher didn't care to offer options. We knew being turned off to reading would be a major stumbling block for…

I heard the sirens in the town square on June 7th, signaling the parade was beginning for Thomas Edison. The bronze replica of him holding a light bulb, that is. Almost seven feet tall and weighing 900 pounds, he rode on a flatbed truck behind an escort of police, sheriff, and fire department vehicles.…

Words, definitions in particular, have gotten me in trouble for as long as I can remember. My earliest language mishap began with organized religion, kicking off an uneasy relationship that continues to this day, although I excelled in some areas of church life. As a child, I loved winning glow-in-the-dark crosses for memorizing scripture. (I…

Our dog Maria and her two puppies were discovered at a dump on a northern Minnesota reservation. A woman up there took them in. She works with a Twin Cities' shelter that periodically picks up her animals because they're more likely to find homes in Minneapolis/St. Paul than in a remote rural area. They knew…

I was a late bloomer to being celebrated on Mother's Day. A mother for the first time at 45, I imagine I expected more than the usual cards and flowers. Because I have a big imagination, I probably envisioned a gigantic balloon drop with cheers and applause. That was almost 20 years ago. So who…

When you get to be my age, you think you know a lot. Still, sometimes you get it wrong. You simply couldn't see it coming. Literally. Since August we've lived next door to Rob and Beth, straight off the Hallmark rack of ideal neighbors--friendly, helpful, considerate. When you live side-by-side with people, you notice their…