simply being

A Pandemic Lesson from Grace

My dog is terrified of storms. They are debilitating for her. Her legs shake, she can’t eat, she can’t sit or lay down and she pants as...

Good with Imperfection

Shims. These are little pieces of wood that you purchase when the floors in your old house slant in three different rooms. I know this...

The Purge (Part One): The Clothes Closet

When I was five, we took our annual Colorado vacation in the hot month of July, and my mother left my packed suitcase with all my...

What Happened Last Friday

We bought a house last Friday. Kyle and I signed our names on eight pages of paperwork, confirmed the money wire, hugged the realtor, and...

Empty House. Deep Breath. Move On.

For months, I was adamant that we would not sell Dad’s house. I couldn’t imagine letting it go. It held all my parents’ stuff, and...

Thoughts on Double-Timing It

Two days before Christmas, I did this to my car. It was completely my fault, and adding insult to injury (actually, my injury was only a...

In Praise of Dumb Phones

I’ve been thinking about cell phones over the past week. Specifically, smart phones. For 12 year olds. It all started when our youngest...

Follow the Clothes, Part One

I’ve been wanting to write about clothes for a while, but it’s come to the surface thanks to Tuesday nights. On Tuesdays, I go to a book...

Before the Madness Begins

Three days before Halloween someone in our neighborhood put up their Christmas lights, which was far more frightening than any ghoul or...

Keep Calm and Consider the Birds

A few months after my mother died, a mama bird made a nest in the floodlights of our back patio. While we sat in the cool spring air and...

Shameless Plug: The Mia Column

I used to edit a print magazine, Mia. For three years, my publishing partners and I birthed a “baby” every three months and then proudly...