Short Stories

You know how baseball players get several months to recover after the regular season, and then they return in the Spring, refreshed and ready to “Play Ball?” That’s what I expect from my Nativity Set. January to November is their off season, which is a generous eleven months. I don’t care what they do during […]

Back in the 70’s, we were warned about a guy who drove around in a van, and lured unsuspecting children with candy. As a young child, I remember having so many questions.  Candy? Free candy? AND he drives a van? (8-year-old me thought vans were awesome!) Where do I find this guy? Recently, I was

I had an eye exam last week, which is one of my least favorite doctor appointments. Hey, we’re going  to shoot puffs of air into your eyeballs at close range, followed by an exam that you don’t get to study for. An exam that I was pretty sure I was going to fail. My new

My granddaughter Holland had her first lemonade stand two weeks ago. With her brightly colored signs, a container of fresh lemonade, and a prime location at the corner of her neighborhood park, she was ready for business. Holland sat in her little chair, smiling and waving to potential customers as they drove by. She was

A few months ago, while visiting Ohio, I went for a run. No one else was on the trail. Except for … A gigantic Canadian Goose. He stood smack in the middle of the trail as if he owned it. His beady eyes followed me and he ruffled his gray feathers in a most unwelcoming

I was watching my friend Julie’s house for the weekend.  Her house is immaculate, everything is sparkling, and like Monica in Friends, there are no “crummies” in her kitchen. This is why I was a little nervous when I decided to make a blueberry-banana-strawberry smoothie. It was a risky move, considering all the ingredients, but

You know how most parents become more relaxed with their second child? Well, not all of them. It was last summer and we had agreed to watch 3-year-old Holland and 5-month-old Noah at our house for the weekend.  “That’s a lot of stuff,” I said, as my daughter, Quincey and her husband, Colby, opened the

When our kids were younger we used to have “Family Game Nights.” Also known as “Family Trauma Nights.” Thanks to a game called, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”  “How can you NOT remember that North America is a continent?” I asked my 8th-grade daughter, trying not to explode. “It’s the one we live

“I have so many ideas,” my sister-in-law, Catherine gushed, when I told her I would be making holiday plants for my daughter’s Christmas market. “Like gluing succulents to driftwood…” “Uh, huh,” I muttered. “Or you can put the succulents in antique Christmas cups,” she added. Unfortunately, I was plum out of antique Christmas cups. And

I go through sunglasses at an alarming rate, which is why I try to keep three pairs on hand at all times: a regular pair, a spare pair, and a desperation pair. My desperation pair usually has parts missing, but it gets the job done. Unfortunately, sometimes all three pairs go MIA, and that’s when