(The following piece was recently published in Persimmon Tree, an on-line magazine. I hope you enjoy it.) I’m walking barefoot uphill. Under one arm, I carry my elderly mother, my siblings, and assorted friends. Some are silent. Some want to assist, but aren’t sure how. Others offer to help but, too tired to direct them, I politely decline. Then there are those who shout instructions (“Turn that way! Move faster!”), which only elevates my unrelenting anxiety and fatigue.  Tucked under my other arm are the other members of my family—husband, kids, grandkids. They cheerfully urge me on and while I

(Imperfectly Revised Edition) It’s a cold and misty winter evening. The wind howls through the treetops. Cue the scary music. GOPP: Hey there. How’s it going? Me: (Frightened) Who are you? GOPP: I’m the GOPP. Me: GOPP? GOPP: The Ghost of Perfection Past. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time. There are thousands of women just like you and I’ve got to visit all of them tonight. So if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna move this thing along. Look over there, into the mist. Me: I don’t see anything . . . wait! It looks like some kind

Amazon Prime Your Orders: 12 orders placed in the past 31 months: Delivered June 5, 2019 -All-in-One Ovulation Predictor & Pregnancy Test Kit Value Pack (1): Simple testing kits predict ovulation and pregnancy with 90% accuracy. Made in the U.S.     Delivered July 22, 2019 All packages left in or near the front door or porch. -The New Parent’s Guide to a Natural Pregnancy and Birth, by Gwen Atkinson, Random House, 2015 -Letters to My Baby Pregnancy Journal: This handbound keepsake baby book is beautifully designed, providing journal pages embossed with inspirational quotes to record every moment of baby’s first

To:  Bellville BookclubCc:Bcc:Subject: April (In-Person!) Meeting Hi Ladies: Now that we’ve all been vaccinated, we can ditch our Zoom accounts and return to our monthly, in-person meetings! It’s my turn to host, which means it’s also my turn to pick the book. I select “Stop Trying So G-D Hard And Just Be You,” a newly published self-help book written by yours truly. Yes, I wrote a book during the pandemic. And yes, I know we rarely read self-help books, since we all agree that they tend to make us feel even worse about ourselves. Sure, we might get excited about

Louisa was washing her hands after spreading yards of mulch when she noticed it: the diamond in her wedding ring was gone. Why hadn’t she taken it off first, or worn gloves?

The jeweler eyed the ring’s fractured prong. “Was it a smallish diamond?”

It hadn’t even been a half carat. Still, her then-boyfriend, now-husband had valeted all summer to pay for it. A blue-collar boy parking cars for white-collar people, Robert had eyes the color of cornflowers and a smile that should’ve been illegal. Tips were good. So good, he graduated college nearly debt-free. He wanted to go to grad school. She wanted to finish her degree in landscape architecture. He said investing in his education was the more practical decision. They couldn’t afford both.

A recurrent childhood dream: I’m in my mother’s kitchen. White ruffled curtains, encouraged by a breeze, float in and out of open windows. It’s like a gunshot when the banging starts, and it’s coming from the door leading to the basement. The door is locked, but the top panel heaves, hinges straining. The wood begins to splinter, fraying like a worn blanket. I sprint to my bedroom, dive under the bed. I hear the crash as the door gives way. The gorilla is coming for me. ### End-of-summer treasure hunt. Bobby discovers a bottle that most certainly contains a magic

I’m likely not the instructor you hoped for when you enrolled in the Game of Thrones Leadership Training Program. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no Jon Snow. But what I lack in stature and good looks, I make up for in wisdom. Besides, with only one other client, I’m currently available. I agree–your world needs help. And maybe you are just the leader it’s looking for. After all, it’s more than a little scary out there. I don’t mean “scary” as in “dragons-flying-around-torching-people” scary, like in my world. Here, a fire-breathing dragon qualifies as a real danger and

She stands at the mic in front of the altar wearing a sleeveless, mid-length dress covered in yellow daisies, size 24, gold hoop earrings, flats. She wishes she could wear heels, stilettos, even, but she knows she doesn’t have the balance for it. She prays the curl in her auburn wig holds up under this humidity, hopes her heavy foundation doesn’t start dripping down her chin, creating a mocha-colored puddle on the terrazzo floor. The church is filling up. God, she wants this to go right. She’s been practicing for weeks, but with the damned hormones, she never knows what