The darkened impression molded into the crumbling brick snagged my attention. The ragged brick was nestled into the wall of a fort and, upon seeing it, I sucked in a surprise breath over the precious detail. A detail many around me missed. The fingerprint of a slave. Let me back up for a moment. You see, I finally found my …
Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Little Rock, Arkansas was a happening place to be yesterday. Everywhere I looked there were children, dogs, mothers and fathers, laughing friends, college students and the retired. It was a beautiful day to be outside. There was also a lot of bickering, most of it coming from unwilling friends and family members being guilted into …
I don’t like waiting. I’ll admit it. Especially when I sense something good just around the bend. Sometimes the anticipation is sweet. Other times it’s almost unbearable. Agonizing. Like waiting in line for Splash Mountain at Disney World in 100 degree heat. (No fast passes included.) In 2003, at the encouragement of a friend, I sent a package of children’s …
Have you ever been stuck dangling from the top of a roller coaster? Our family recently vacationed at a theme park and, being a roller coaster aficionado, I couldn’t wait to ride the new coaster. It promised to be a dizzying, speeding bullet with large twists, loops and a stomach clenching drop. As we rounded the corner to get in …
Barney Fife. Scarlett O’Hara. Inigo Montoya. Huckleberry Finn. Hannibal Lecter. Atticus Finch. Sherlock Holmes. Elphaba. Luke Skywalker. All great characters with vibrant and memorable personalities. All a complex mix of flaws, quirks, dreams and failures. Here’s the thing about finding characters…predictable characters are dull characters. I think most would agree that the above characters are all interesting, memorable and larger-than-life. …
Ah, the infamous ‘comfort zone’. We crave it. We want it. It gives a sense of security and well-being, doesn’t it? But here’s the thing: the comfort zone is actually quite deceptive. It gives us the illusion of security, the illusion of happiness, of comfort. But oftentimes it’s nothing more than a lie spilling from the lips of the enemy …
We did it. We took the plunge. We are homeschooling and I’ve got to say, it’s been rewarding. Exhausting, fun and challenging but rewarding. There were a few tears, a few “I don’t understand…”s and brief moments of meltdown, but I’m feeling better now. The girls are doing great too, by the way. In the homeschooling world, I keep hearing …
I’m a lot more spiritual after I’ve had caffeine. I know it’s sad but true. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve joked about it. It usually gets a laugh because we all know what it’s like to stumble out of bed, hair tangled and blinking through puffy eyes, unready and unprepared to face another day. Sunlight seems like …
The florescent lights in my laundry room died several weeks ago. After unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem, my husband declared that it would take the work of our friend, a skilled electrician, to repair it. Days turned into weeks as my hubby forgot to call to set up the appointment. So here I am, enjoying the wonder of doing …
As I walked down our road for some early morning exercise, I was surprised to hear the distinct cry of a hawk overhead. I shrugged the sound away, assuming he was out for a little breakfast. A minute later, I heard the hawk screech again. Squinting against the sunlight, I shaded my eyes and searched for the source of the …