Roller coasters are not my forte. My favorite ride at Six Flags Over Texas was Yosemite Sam’s Gold River Adventure. In case you missed this gem, you sat in a boat and floated gently into a cave while cool mist floated gracefully down upon you to provide reprieve from the lava Texas temperatures while enjoying the Looney Tunes scenery on the slow glide through the cave. Theworst thing that could happen would be that Yosemite Sam caught you off guard with his silly antics along the way. No loops or twists and turns to make your stomach lurch. Just a nice easy journey. Despite my better judgement, my darling husband…

The first time he saw her, blonde hair blowing in the breeze through the open windows of her ivory Volkswagen Beetle, she zipped by his family’s filling station where he had been working for the summer. He had to meet her. He hopped off the cooler where he was perched awaiting customers, left his post, and went after her. I’m not sure if he locked the door or secured the cash, but off he bolted in hot pursuit. He caught her up the hill on the outskirts of town. She had pulled over at the cemetery to turn around. And so it began. Introductions, small talk, getting to know one…

I once used a wordless picture book called Zoom to teach young writers the importance of imagery. The book begins zoomed in on an object. With the turning of each page, a slightly broader picture of the surroundings appears. The lens zooms out. At the end of the book, when the entire scene is revealed, I would never have guessed the starting image just by looking at it in isolation. As I sit here this morning, the first day of December, I can’t help but feel that way. I look forward to the first day of December each year because it marks the beginning of one of my favorite family…

Sleet pelts against the roof and pitters on the porch. I hear the wintery storm transpiring just beyond my front door. Ahead of schedule. This type of weather usually blows through in January, not late October. I squelch the urge to ‘do’ and recline on the couch with my coffee. Slowly sipping. The fire crackling in the fireplace as it comes to life giving warmth to the morning. It seems there is a societal push to be ahead of schedule. Even my watch supports this theory. Last Sunday, it chimed mid-afternoon, “Angela, your move and exercise rings are usually farther along by now. Find some time to get moving today…”…

 I turned off the alarm. I wouldn’t need it this morning. No need for it to chime me awake. I’d been awake for close to an hour. Thinking. Praying. Thinking some more. Willing myself not to think. Praying. Trying to go back to sleep. Thinking about sleep. Willing myself to go back to sleep. Just before 5, I decided to head for the Keurig. Two days ago, we celebrated my dad’s honorary seventieth birthday with homemade apple pie and vanilla Blue Bell. Four years. Four years since I gave him his last birthday hug. We didn’t know then that time was fleeting. It was just a normal Tuesday afternoon. That’s…

I was out for a morning walk, contemplating life as I know it. A thunderstorm the night before wreaked havoc emitting hail from the clutches of the clouds. I pondered the dichotomy of beauty around me juxtaposed to the detriment the night before. Blooms peaked through from their hiding places. Blades of grass upheld droplets of water, thankful for the nourishment. Thick humidity hung in the atmosphere. Gone were the winds of yesterday. Stillness enveloped the morning. Or so I thought. The dog came out of nowhere. Ferocious barking shattered my pensive thoughts. After my initial jolt of shock, my gait slowed so as not to make any sudden movements…

My nerves begin to sing as the first day of school inches closer. A dear mentor who has been teaching longer than I’ve been alive once told me that if you are not nervous before the first day of school, it is time to think about a career change. With teaching comes great responsibility. Parents are sending educators the apples of their eye to lead, guide, and direct in good faith that their children will be better for the time they’ve spent in our care. It’s the Saturday before school starts. Despite my efforts for complete respite this morning, multiple lists of things I need to accomplish in my classroom…

I came across this throwback piece of writing recently and am sharing it with my daughter’s permission. We laughed so hard at the memory of this moment. Let’s be honest…the last few months have presented no shortage of challenges. But almost every night my daughter includes a simple phrase in her prayer- Thank You, Lord, for what I’ve been able to do today. Some of those days didn’t even involve leaving the house. She inspires me every day, and I am humbled and blessed that God chose me to be her mom. Gratitude trumps grumbling. Laughter is the best medicine. July. Burning hot lava days. My daughter and I grabbed…

I gazed into our backyard imagining beautiful flowers interspersed with a few succulents inhabiting a small triangular flowerbed in the corner of our yard. I shared this vision with my husband to which he replied after a few seconds of contemplation, “Ang, you can’t even keep a cactus alive…” My sister and her family recently went on vacation, and I helped tend to a few things at her house in their absence. One of which was watering her beautiful garden. In my aforementioned lack of green thumb state, I grabbed the hose and went to watering. The only problem was that I wasn’t quite sure which of the smaller plants…

Summer has officially begun with all its sweat filled glory. My birthday gift from my husband and daughter last year was a new bike. It’s pretty stupendous and totally my speed- a hot pink and black cruiser with a cozy seat, basket on the front for essentials, and whitewall tires. I’ve never been an off-road kind of girl. To put my relationship with nature in perspective, my parents found a way to hookup a small TV and VCR in the pop-up camper on our family camping trips so that I could take a break and watch Care Bears in the heat of the day. But this bike has given me…