Walking Mother to the Gate
“You are a good woman,” Mother whispers as I lean close. “Why are you telling me this,” I say to her, not quite teary, because
“You are a good woman,” Mother whispers as I lean close. “Why are you telling me this,” I say to her, not quite teary, because
Picture a second grade class, decades before now. There were rotary telephones with party lines (which meant that sometimes you had to wait your turn
On this day, 50 years ago, Silent Bob and I married. On January 31, 2024, I will have been a widow for 4 years. It’s
On this day, eighteen years ago, at this time, Silent Bob and I lay on a bed in a Grand Junction hotel room, our grief
“Janet, stop jumping around and doing cartwheels in the house.” That was my dad, his temper often intensified by the hangovers and headaches that regularly
At this time in 1978, just two years in advance of what will be the hottest summer on record, I was in the hospital, laboring
This is a pubic service announcement about grief. If anything in this world is true, it’s the reality of grief and that it’s a part
My men were all out for the evening. I figured I could make them proud of me. Amazon had delivered the replacement for the failed
“What in the world are you doing?” Josh said, walking down the driveway. It was mostly dark, as dark as it can be on a
We have a pool. Which is a very usual thing to have in Houston. We’ve had that pool for almost 40 years and with the
It seems to me there has been more buzz about Mother’s Day this year. (It’s possible that this is a personal observation based on my
Sitting in the Walmart parking lot a little bit north of Houston, the blustery wind is buffeting the car. It’s going to be a hot
Wrapped in sheets I had washed in iron water and hung on a line to dry, I slipped my leg out from the covers and
It some parts of the country it’s fashionable to have a chicken coop. I am fashionable these days, because I do indeed have a chicken
I am seriously going crazy. And I mad as hell at Dell… For two weeks, two weeks, my laptop has been broken! and I am
In the fall, in 1916, a little baby girl was born, just outside of Houston, in a black community known as Brookshire. Her family
This past week some friends of mine, lets just call them Mr. and Mrs., gave me some apples. They grew these apples. In Houston. Where
If you’ve been reading anything I have written for the last several years, you know I came from an alcoholic family. That would be my
Growing up, I liked Connie’s house. It was grand. Her dad being a preacher an all, they moved around to parsonages and in this particular
About 10 months ago, Mother and I were driving to the farm. There were clouds rolling across the northwest part of Waller county and we
I shuffled around the pine needles that filled up the farm yard. Everyone’s gone but me, they’ve gone north and south out of Hempstead and
I was primed for baby birds with all the nests at the farm. There were Carolina wrens in the barn and barn swallows in their
Becky, a friend of my heart, has this most amazing hair. She swears she has it because her dad shaved her bald when she was
I find myself noticing youth. I must have been like them at one time. I can safely say I never appreciated just how beautiful youth
“I have an old lab. He’s 12. I just want you to make him comfortable. He has trouble making his back legs work. But mostly
I never watched ‘Two and a Half Me’; mostly because I never seem to get involved with 30 minute sitcoms. The few times I did
I think I have told you before… When I go to Mexico, which I will be going this week, I study these little buggers… They
We’d been at Elfoud for three days. Base camp had been a lovely palace turned hotel just outside the city. Each morning we had piled
Last weekend, Houston and surrounding environs were supposed to get 3 inchs of snow… give or take… The models said so. The models were wrong.
The Kids Are Gone, Want a Divorce? There must be fairy tale type marriages. You know the kind. They are the stuff of romance novels…
The Way to the Heart is Through the Stomach My dad was one of the few people I have ever known who hated to eat.
Build Your Man a Cave Mother goes to NAM daily. NAM is our local Northwest Assistance Ministires and they “strive to meet basic human needs
Let me tell you why, right here at the beginning of 2011, I have decided it’s time for me to provide you with marital advice,
For reasons that have to do with a battle, my sister in law and her husband have been in town. They are Midwesterners, living outside
Part 3 – Boots Dear Santa, I am hoping its not too late notice to ask for special orders. You might remember that I had
Part 2 – Dolls I was never good at playing with dolls. Mostly I didn’t get it. It’s possible that it wasn’t so much the
Part 1 – Stockings Being a freckled girl, I’ve never had that beautiful skin that seems to run with the genes of dark eyed people.
This summer I planted one row of okra, about 20 plants, that started bearing their little seedy, green pods the first of July. They have
I’m sentimental. I am wondering if there is a word that could indicate a lot more excess of emotion than that, because if there is,
I’ve been trying to write a happy Monday for three days. It’s not that I don’t have things in my heart to say. I do.
Silent Bob came back from the back field. “#12 is acting funny. She’s in the middle field lying down. The other cows are back there
It’s been the year of insects out at the farm. This summer the fields were filled with grasshoppers and crickets peeped out of whole under
The old house on Oak Hill was drafty. It would have been more so if it hadn’t been spit and pasted together with layers of
I am not much about driving. But it seems like lately I have been driving a lot. And I almost always have someone with me.
“Don’t just stand around. Figure out what needs to be done and do it.” Dad said. “Don’t wait for me to tell you,” he continued,
We sat in Beijing, Leslie and I, about in the middle of the auditorium. It was hot and the day outside was typical for the
Sometimes I see things I really want. Take for instance the utility sink that my amiga had in her Mexican home, when I was visiting
I’m here in Mexico, Cuatro Ciénegas to be exact, one of my favorite places. A place I have spent some time looking at the mountains
We used to quilt. Okay, maybe we never really quilted much, not as a group anyway. But given that no one seemed to come up
When I get back home, I am going to watch Dr.Zhivago again. It’s probably not going to be as spectacular as I remember it. All
The lake was an eerie green week before last. All that cow poop, as those black Angus mommas stood in it 24/7 to try and
Near Troy, Missouri and the junction of state roads V and W and JJ, there are a series of low rolling mountain ridges. These ridges
As I think I have told you, I am the oldest child. I was also the girl child that my dad hoped would be a
“Want to come up and help me build that patio?” Captain Josh said. Being the mother of adult sons, I long to hear these kinds
It’s about this time of year I start wondering if I am going to Elk camp again. Understand, I am not supposed to go. Women
I have inordinately happy about this past couple of weeks at the farm. It’s because we have been baling hay. Let me explain. When we
We’ve got a lot of pine trees on the farm. Very old ones. I’ve talked about them before. The barn and ‘D’ house all sit
Silent Bob, my beloved, is a very smart man. There isn’t a sport that you can talk about that he doesn’t know the stats, in
Maybe it’s because I drive so much, but lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about cars. The one I am currently driving has become something
If you go out to the farm right now, at the very back, behind the house, and then behind the barn, you will find a
I have never been much into cars. This is clearly all on account of my Dad, no question about it. He thought one of the
It’s the last hours of Memorial Day 2010. All day I have chosen to remember… “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who
“I am going to have to renew my driver’s license. I want you to take me,” says my tiny, feisty, soon to be 78 year
“I think you need a brooder box for your birthday,” says brother Neil. I don’t want to raise anything else, I think to myself. “No”.
“Babies amaze me.” I said to God the other day. “I gave you three of your own. Weren’t you amazed then?” He replied. “Yeah, I
We sat there, Fariq and I, gazing out on the pyramids. “I don’ think an Egyptian made them.” He said. His eyes were like dark
In case you have forgotten, because it’s been soooo long since I wrote, we were talking about cows and magic straws. You know, as in
You might recall that I have mentioned previously that cow farming is all about reproduction. It’s a place where we acknowledge what is true and
March 1, 2010 The young woman looked to be in her late teens. Very tall and lithe, she was beautiful. She was applying her makeup
I knew it was going to be a bad week, Harriet had left three messages for me to call her back. ‘Janet’, says Harriet, when
I have been having a strange desire the last few months. I want to create something. There was a time when it was babies that
They had just laid down a fresh load of gravel outside Moss’ place. Meant to cover the potholes and welcome the thirsty souls looking for
Everyone here in northern Mexico is bracing for an even colder weekend. Today clouds covered the mountains that surround this valley and we kept our
Day 2 Everyone here in northern Mexico is bracing for an even colder weekend. Today clouds covered the mountains that surround this valley and we
I don’t know what you are doing this week. Maybe you are starting some new resolutions or maybe you are trying to get settled back
Have you ever wondered about Heaven? I mean beyond whether there is one or not. (I have to assume you already made a decision one
I think my Mother would have liked it if I had been a movie star. She wanted this, not because of any particular talent or
Funny how the date of important things get blurred in your mind. You say to yourself I will never forget this day and then, there
“Mom, you can’t do what you did last year about the Christmas tree.” Johnathan says, somewhat exasperated that he has to go there with me.
I’ll be honest with you, its been a rough couple of weeks. First I got this crazy crick in my neck. (Even saying that makes