The other day I found myself up in Big Creek State Park just north of the city of Des Moines in this little swath of the Midwest. It was a cool and crisp autumn day. The light was shifting through the half-naked tree branches and refracting off the ripples on the water’s surface almost as […]
Tag: family
A good neighbor
On a recent fall morning in a small city park shelter in one of the suburbs that make up the Des Moines Metro area in this little swath of the Midwest, activity happened. Twenty-three geocachers were signing or stamping one hundred-nineteen postcards meant for forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Japan and South Korea. There […]
Be Ridiculous
The other day, in the midst of some crazy at the full time job, with my head swimming of things I needed to do and people I needed to speak to and reply to. I got a voicemail. A voice from the past who said just a few words….. And suddenly I taken back in […]
“I wish you’d grow up”
When I was younger and living in the Golden State, my grandmother across the country used to send us money for Christmas. Each person got a set amount usually in the middle of December to spend as we pleased. My parents would take us shopping in the weeks leading up to Christmas so that we […]
Motherhood
I’m gonna need to get something off my chest. Mother’s Day was this past weekend. But amidst the cards and the candy and the wind chimes and flowers and plants and the little handmade gifts that were given, there is a undercurrent as well. The holiday was started as a movement to recognize WOMEN in […]
Kith and Kin
I don’t have any family that is related to me by blood here in my little swath of the Midwest. Most of my blood family lives on the East coast of the United States, though I still have some family in the Golden State as well. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a family […]
Yo-yos
It’s been a weird couple of weeks here in my little swath of the Midwest. We’ve gone from highs in the 60s, 70s, and quite possibly even 80s here this weekend to having a blizzard last weekend and then sub-zero wind chills. It’s been a roller-coaster of a few weeks and hopefully, we will get […]
Life and Loss and Love and these
Every so often, life throws a curveball that just leaves me stunned. Tuesday evening was one of those moments…. I had just clocked out from the full time job at my place of work in this little swath of the Midwest when my smartwatch notified me that I had an incoming phone call. The number […]
Christmas time is here again
It’s the 4th of December. My little swath of the Midwest is dealing with some wintry wonderland weather. We had a snowstorm that dumped more than a half foot of snow on us this past weekend and today the wind chill is below zero degrees Fahrenheit. It looks like Christmas outside. Inside, the tree is […]
Family
I just spent a whirlwind three days on the East coast visiting my blood family. As many of you know, I live in this tiny swath of the Midwest that is also called the Des Moines Metro area of Iowa. I don’t have ANY blood family here. The reason I live here is because many […]
