Daddy Trails Three wishes, three fathers, and a DNA fairy-tale ending. I had a solitary childhood given to fanciful imaginings, enterprising explorations, ancillary unintentional mistreatment, and three secret wishes. The third of those wishes was to have my very own father. We would share a name, unequivocal love, and be a family. My step-dad raised […]

Continue Reading

I have often asked myself what would make a mother kill her baby. What thought process could lead a mother to this horrendous act of destruction, this staggering performance of perfidy? To begin with, she would have to be entrapped in darkness so black, so encompassing, so seemingly inescapable that no light can penetrate it. […]

Continue Reading

I’ve been called that a time or two! It’s never said in a complimentary way. Even as a child I caught the subtle nuances of derision. Except I didn’t quite know why that tone was being used on me. My harsh environment prompted more and ever more the perfect response, the perfect action, the perfect little girl. […]

Continue Reading

Potato scoring method:  When I was a little girl I LOVED MASHED POTATOES.   Mom made them all rich and lumpy with lots of cream and butter.  Sometimes the potatoes came from Grandma Lizzy’s cellar.  It smelled musty and hosted its resident black snake, but that didn’t diminish the cellar’s importance. The lumpiness of the potatoes—made […]

Continue Reading

I know a woman whose mother died when she was 15.  She was thrown into being the “mom” of the household with brothers and a sister to cook, clean and care for.  Her father depended on her, loved her and quite frankly, couldn’t have managed without her.

Continue Reading

I love, love, love this time of year.  From Thanksgiving to New Years is like Happyville for me.  Right about the time I start figuring what size turkey to get for dinner, I can feel a change right here.    It’s small at first, but it continues to grow each day….like a little spotlight. Its diameter […]

Continue Reading

For me Father’s Day conjures memories, tears, laughter and sometimes regrets.  Right now the mere mention of father brings tears to my eyes as my heart is full of unanticipated revelations.  I now quite unexpectedly have three fathers.

Continue Reading

Whether you want to clean up that sluggish digestive system, wake up the circulatory system, give the immune system a kick in the seat of the pants or try a new culinary dish chickweed may be the solution to those “cabin-fever” attacks.   The best part is it’s free.  It’s prolific in Missouri and easy to […]

Continue Reading

  These stories are in response to the  Holy Woman Challenge.  They are from real women living real lives who are striving to bring holiness into their souls, their homes, their families.  They are working to put our Lord number 1 in their hearts, their thoughts, their words, their actions.   There are so many of […]

Continue Reading