Away with the Fairies

Ruminations during a walk in the forested Highlands.

Ruminations: Anniversaries, Adulting and Snuggling with Tina Fey

Yesterday would have been my great-grandfather’s 118th birthday and my 26th wedding anniversary. The day before yesterday would have been Nana and PawPaw’s 74th anniversary? Whoa.   I was a young thing when I got married, and it only lasted a couple of years. But I will say it was a learning experience. I have…

Ruminations: Seattle: Coffee, Donuts and Another Life

Two days ago was National Donut Day. We have decent (actually really good) donuts in Lafayette, but certain foods oftentimes taste better when you have memories to attach them to. When I was little, I really loved Shipley Do-Nuts in Alexandria. Not only were they packed with sugar plus jam or icing or creamy stuff, but…

Ruminations: Mom is Breathing

My mother’s blood races through me, gasping for breath, searching out the experiences she missed. Is there still time? There must still be time, she says. She conjures up my thirst for British tea, her favorite. She encourages me to eat onion and mayonnaise sandwiches. They make my stomach hurt, I whine. Nonsense. Eat them….

Ruminations: Paris, My Love

I had no idea how long we’d been on the bus, only that I’d fallen asleep somewhere in-between the rolling green peas and our emergence into the City of Light. The boat-lag oscillated between my head and stomach while my eyes opened to a fraction of the enchanted view I’d only previously seen through French…

Ruminations: Ok, 2017, if this is how ya wanna play …

I never expected it to turn out this way. This wasn’t the plan. I thought I would have gotten up early, made tea or coffee, eaten a croissant in a civilized manner and begun writing like the future author I would become. But it didn’t happen like that. I also thought I would be spending…

Ruminations: It’s Weird

I still don’t know how to describe it. Nana and I keep saying, “it’s weird,” because it is. We finally sold the house. After eight years of being weighed down by the obstacles and the bad memories, and the good memories and the sadness that our family would never be the same, life would never…

Ruminations: Finding My Road

My most recent ex hated the song Hotel California. He didn’t mind the Gipsy Kings’ version, but he really hated The Eagles. I’m not a fan of all of their songs, but I’m also not a hater. Some people are. This song has meaning for me, and whether my ex liked it or not, it…

Ruminations: Minus the Doom + Gloom

Someone recently texted me the words “doom and gloom,” and I thought, “that’s it, I’m going to write something upbeat. Something that sings rather than moans.” And then David Bowie died at age 69 from cancer. And today Alan Rickman died at age 69 from cancer. And two of my beautiful cousins are battling cancer….

Ruminations: Young Lady, I’m Not Done With You Yet!

“I’ve met so many people of different languages and cultures. You know what? We are all one. Insulated In our smaller worlds, but united by spirit nonetheless. Religions blinds us to our unity. I wish I could have done more to see peace and understanding prevail. But I am weary of running from my darkness….

Ruminations: Good Morning, Moon; Merci, Universe

A sharp pain pulses in my left arm. Could this be it? Is this what it feels like? My heartbeat jumps here and there, and I have trouble breathing let alone thinking rational thoughts. I am on fire with rage. Angry because I knew this would happen again, but kept fighting my intuition. Angry because…

Ruminations: Calming the Chaos

“We can’t cross our arms and wait for the water to become the perfect temperature before we learn to swim.” My move back “home” to Louisiana has been chaotic, to say the least. TONS of new responsibilities landed in my lap with a new crisis arising at least once a week. From learning how to…