My mother sits at the kitchen table, her purple bathrobe loose around her thin body. She covers her face with her hands. I drop to my knees beside her chair and look up at her. I am like a baby bird, waiting to be fed my mother’s wisdom and understanding and love. She drops herContinue reading “Lift the Flap”
Tag Archives: writing
June Camp NaNoWriMo Stats
Well, the June camp of NaNoWriMo is officially over and I failed to reach my goal. Yes, we had family visit and we took a mini-vacation and I have three kids and my husband did not travel like he normally does, but those are just excuses because in the end I still failed. I startedContinue reading “June Camp NaNoWriMo Stats”
The Power of a First Word
She sat in the dark, rocking the fussy child. She was so tired she didn’t remember climbing the stairs to answer the crying toddler’s wordless call for comfort. It had been a hard pregnancy, a hard birth, a hard year of transitioning from three children to four. And this child was proving to be hardContinue reading “The Power of a First Word”
Bombshell by M-A-C
It was her one night out a month, a time to be with girlfriends, to leave husband and child to gorge themselves on frozen pizza and chocolate milk while she sipped French wine and talked shoes and upcoming vacations. Walking into the restaurant, heads turned and she couldn’t resist putting a bit of swagger intoContinue reading “Bombshell by M-A-C”
Keeping Score
“It was a nice service,” Peter said, pulling away from the curb. He glanced into the back seat at me, but his comment was meant for his mother sitting in the passenger seat. “Except for that bum cozying up to Martha.” Louise frowned. “Here she is, burying her husband and she has to deal with thatContinue reading “Keeping Score”
What I Tell You Three Times Is True
I slip into the stairwell of the derelict hotel and begin to climb the five flights of stairs. My footsteps are steady, but my mind weaves erratically. I don’t want to think, but my mind won’t behave. At the first landing, I pause and breathe. I do not want to stop again. When I reachContinue reading “What I Tell You Three Times Is True”
Sonnet vs. Sestina
I use to write poetry, years ago. Until I had a teacher who told me I was definitely more of a prose writer than poet. And as I also wrote short stories, essays, novels I was okay with her pronouncement. I guess in my youth I’d been toying with which to be. Poet? Novelist? IContinue reading “Sonnet vs. Sestina”
“It wasn’t the first time…”
Complete the following story in 33 words: ‘It wasn’t the first time.’ (The five words are not to be included in your 33 words) It wasn’t the first time she’d fired a gun, but she’d never killed anyone before. She clenched her hands to stop the shaking. She wasn’t sorry. Young girls weren’t meant for buying andContinue reading ““It wasn’t the first time…””
Camp NaNoWriMo
Remember going to camp as a kid? Leaving your parents and siblings, heading off to a place filled with new people and new experiences? The campfire songs, the friendships formed, the homesickness, the potential exposure to poison ivy,…I must admit, I preferred the camps not geared towards exploring nature. My ideal camps were the ones consideredContinue reading “Camp NaNoWriMo”
The Courage to be Fearless
Recently my mother said something that caused me to stop and reflect on who I’ve become. We were talking about when I was young (before marriage and children) and she commented on how I was fearless. I wasn’t the one to dip my toe into the water and think about what I was jumping into.Continue reading “The Courage to be Fearless”
Andrea Miles 