Turn for the Tide

Part One: The Glow . Our leader quickly explains what I will need to hurriedly write down. As scribe, I will listen for tag numbers, latitude, longitude, measurements, physical descriptors, and military time. I nod, hoping I won’t forget my instructions or fall behind. How quickly will this all happen? The tag, medical pack, a [...]

Ready for God

“I wasn’t ready yet for church, but I was ready for God. And I’ve always believed that the ocean is one of the surest places to find Him.“- Shauna Niequist, "Cold Tangerines” . I did find my way back to church. And I’m so glad I did. At some point you must go deeper than [...]

Rise Up

I wish I could have bottled up the morning. Simply to be able to taste it again. The back door was open. A breeze made the white curtains prance. Syrup poured over small pancakes. Swing music erupting from the record player battled the lawnmower roaring through the yard… Isaiah had once again strewn his clothes [...]

Spin Cycle

The smell of Gain and dryer sheets is so thick I can feel it in my pores. A fan spins in rhythm with the massive dryers. l think of all the places I’ve watched my clothes spin. There was the laundry room in my dormitory building where I alternated between studying textbooks and the pages [...]

Hold Your Baby

One day, you’ll be able to eat in peace. You’ll sit down and no one will dig their chubby fingers into your eggs or spill your coffee. One day, you’ll take an unhurried shower. You’ll dry your hair and paint your lips. One day, you’ll clean your house and it will stay spotless for at [...]

Allez Les Bleus

It was the summer of 1998. I was in Paris. Eleven years old and completely overwhelmed by voices loudly singing anthems and popular futbol chants. Faces painted in primary colors. Down the street they went arm-in-arm. Through the night I would hear a cacophony of riotous celebration and foreign insults hurled through the air in [...]

A Nearly Invisible Battle

Years ago, in the midst of a dark chapter, when I was stuck in bed and stuck in life... stuck in the decisions I had made... stuck in the pain I was feeling... I watched hours and hours of “No Reservations”. Episode after episode...I would even leave it playing through the night so the room [...]

Like Coming Home

My grandparents house always had a distinctive, sort of clean laundry smell. Today that sweet fragrance punched me right in the face. I cried. Within seconds of scent recognition, without even a conscious thought; I just lost it. Tears were burning my eyes and it felt like saying goodbye all over again. I put on [...]

No Small Parts

Sometimes the “traditional roles” of our marriage are misunderstood. Not by us, mind you. Misunderstood by others. Well-meaning people have said things like, “How long will you be home with your kids? Do you think you’re going to get a job?” I quickly remind them that I have a job. It involves 12-14 hour days, [...]

The seed provided.

Something sprouted up in my tiny garden that I didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like any of the plants growing around it. I couldn’t identify it by it's immature leaves. I hadn’t planted in that particular spot so I was confused. It grew a little more and seemed like it was starting to vine. Then [...]