“Old man take a look at my life I’m a lot like you I need someone to love me the whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.” Neil Young When we were young, the thought of growing old didn’t cross our minds- except perhaps in a romantic […]

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest last fall, I was unfamiliar with our King County noxious weeds, a group of plants quite different from the heat-loving weeds of the Ozarks from whence I traveled. As I became busy with the details of moving in, getting settled, and getting my life back on track, I […]

Every family has its secrets. I often sat with my paternal Polish grandmother- Babci- at the round oak table in her kitchen, under the watchful eyes of Jesus and his Apostles. (All good Catholics had a framed print of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper hanging in their kitchen or dining room.) We shared a […]

This morning, while cleaning my bathroom, I accidentally glanced at the mirror and realized that it was splattered with a Jackson Pollack spray of white toothpaste dots, which I then proceeded to wipe away. A seemingly normal task. Not so normal for me. I’m one of the many adults and children with a misinformed self-image […]

I can’t pretend to know what works best for growing and healing. I’ve definitely floundered around during my lifetime, trying to climb out of that hole. I still miss my foothold now and then and slide down to the bottom. What I’ve learned is that children who grow up in sheltered circumstances while experiencing questionable- […]

Every single year, since I was old enough to feel the pressure to celebrate it, it’s been the same old thing. Mother’s Day is a Bitch. I can’t ignore it. The pop-up ads from the national florists tell me to Shop Now, Save 25% for Mother’s Day. The television ads for I don’t know what… […]

The First Time I Got Paid for Doing It… for Writing, of course. The United Church of Christ on Main Street had a hall where Ballroom Dancing & Etiquette Classes were held for eighth graders. My mother refused to let me attend. “That’s where girls get pregnant!” she said. Every morning as my school bus […]

I’ll always remember. I’ll never forget. I have truly tried to forgive, and I think I’m almost there, but it’s not easy. Sometimes a storm swirls inside of me, causing me to regress to the terrified child. Then- just as suddenly- I return to shaping the phrases and selecting the words, and I remember that […]

I found myself in a sea of similar sized individuals, in my assigned seat with my assigned school supplies. One fat #2 pencil. Dark blue, not yellow. One black and white patterned composition book. One large pink eraser that didn’t really deserve its name- it constantly called attention to my mistakes by carving blisters in […]

Not too many years ago, when I was teaching Adinkra symbolism to children in the Arkansas Delta, there was a symbol that caught my attention with its graceful design, and caught my heart with its meaning. The symbol was “Sankofa”, a stylized heart with a curvy inside and base. It became my mantra and my […]