(re-run) She was thin, blond, and beautiful. When Mama left me in her care, I was enthralled with her, my very first teacher. Her name was Miss Tatz, and she was the lone teacher in the community building at Urbandale Lions Park, an overflow situation for the school district. Even though it was sixty-three years… Continue reading Worst Kindergarten Teacher Ever
Marathon Man
(re-run) She had tried them all — Match, eharmony, Our Time, Chemistry, Zoosk, OkCupid, and CoffeeMeetsBagel. She’d had her share of weirdos and had learned to use a fake name, fake town, and a fake place of work. She had been stalked in the past. Now she knew how to do it and be safe.… Continue reading Marathon Man
The Story of Scout, the Rescue Pup
Yesterday my two dogs alerted me to a rat under the pad for the air conditioner on the side of the house. Pepper had already dug a huge hole in the wet clay. Any more digging and the air conditioner was going to tip over. So my adult offspring and I put a wire fence… Continue reading The Story of Scout, the Rescue Pup
Ready To Pop
I had a memory pop into my head this morning. I was nine months pregnant at the grocery store, in line waiting for the checker to finishing ringing up my groceries. I might’ve had a pre-schooler with me. The bag boy looked at my protruding belly and said, “You look like you’re ready to pop.… Continue reading Ready To Pop
This Little Piggy
(re-run) Right after college, I moved to a town with 2000 people and a bunch of pigs — real ones, the kind that grunt and poop and lift the gate latch with their noses. I saw something run past the window of my rented farmhouse. At first I thought it was a deer until I… Continue reading This Little Piggy
Desperado
(re-run) Another first date during my time in Omaha, Nebraska, was with a tall, thin but attractive man who was a few years older and reminded me of James Taylor. Kevin took me to the standard dinner and a movie and then wanted to show me his house. It was a summer night, and after… Continue reading Desperado
Be Careful Who You Hike With
(re-run) First of all, the title should be Be Careful with Whom You Hike, but I figured only English teachers would read the post if I did it that way. An old bf asked me to go on a hike with him. I said yes a little too quickly. Looking back, Bob (not his real… Continue reading Be Careful Who You Hike With
Two Months and Seventeen Days
My daughter got her first full-time job offer today after graduating in global health last May. We talked. She was pumped about it but will still honor tomorrow’s interview. Then the truly bizarre happened. I got a text this afternoon from the United States Post Office, saying that my package from California had been delivered… Continue reading Two Months and Seventeen Days
Mornings Are for Blogging
(re-run) When you’re mostly retired, like I am, you find that you think best in the morning. I’ve written and published 29 children’s books, and each one was born in the a.m. (not after midnight). At night I am pretty worthless. I can usually read until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. Then it’s Snoozeville after that,… Continue reading Mornings Are for Blogging
Ketchup and Noodles
(re-run) When my son was two and his big sister was in kindergarten, I saw a window of opportunity to go do child-free errands, if I could just find a place to park him for two or three hours. Enter my neighbor Peggy. She didn’t have a childcare license, which limits the caregiver to six… Continue reading Ketchup and Noodles
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 