When Mom asked me not to wear the dress of my dreams at MY OWN WEDDING because it might âoutshine my sister,â I finally understood my place in her heart. Second. Always second. I got married to the love of my life, Richard, last month. Itâs been wonderful starting this new chapter together, living in […]
When my neighbor John refused to clean up his trash after it blew across our entire neighborhood, I never expected Mother Nature would deliver such perfect justice. Iâve always considered myself a reasonable person. The kind who brings cookies to new neighbors, volunteers at community cleanups, and smiles politely at HOA meetings even when Mrs. […]
We adopted Bobby, a mute five-year-old kid, hoping time and love would heal him. He broke our lives with five words on his sixth birthday: âMy parents are alive.â Next, we learned unexpected truths. I always imagined motherhood would be easy. Life has other ideas. Bobby said more than his first sentence. It started a […]
HE NAMED THE CALF âBUTTONSââBUT ONCE THE TRUCK PULLED UP, GRANDPA WOULDNâT LOOK HIM IN THE EYE Buttons wasnât supposed to be anything special. Just a calf born early springâscrawny, off-balance, always trying to nibble on the drawstrings of my hoodie. But my son Ezra fell for her fast. Every morning before school, heâd run […]
Soon after delivering the first baby, Leahâs pulse began dropping, and her condition gradually worsened. Pregnant, sheâd been left on the street by her boyfriend, Joe. She ended up giving birth to triplets at the cost of her own life. The only person who cared for her was her brother, Dr. Thomas. He adopted her […]
The kitchen was alive with activity. There were enough cupcakes and cheese platters to feed a wedding, and streamers that read â100â hung from the ceiling. They all wanted to take a photo with Grandma Elsie. One hundred years, I mean. Isnât that something? Wrapped in her favorite purple fleece, she appeared small in her […]
My husband died when our daughter, Susie, was just two weeks old. A car crash, they said. Sudden. Brutal. The kind of tragedy you canât prepare for because youâre too busy living. One moment, Charles was kissing my forehead on his way out for milk. The next, I was cradling our infant, too numb to […]
