2024-2025 WOW! Q1 CNF ESSAY CONTEST FINALIST. “Come with me young lady,” Dad said as he grabbed my arm and steered me down the hall. He entered the guest bathroom, pulled me in, and closed the door. “You will not talk to me like that!” he scolded. As we stood in a room barely big […]
The Memory That Haunts Me Read More »
Originally published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels & Messages From Heaven. Four months before Dad passed away, I went to San Diego to visit him. He was eighty-nine, his health was declining, and I wanted to spend time with him before it was too late. One afternoon, when Dad and I were
Maybe it would help me hang on to a little piece of him. Despite the sun playing peek-a-boo with the clouds all afternoon, it was hot for early June in the mountains. With the thermometer pushing eighty degrees, and the humidity not far behind, it wasn’t ideal gardening weather. But I felt called to plant—well,
Why I Planted a Garden for Dad After He Died Read More »
It’s dredging up a profound sense of loss I thought I’d already worked through. This story was originally published in The Wind Phone on Medium. The text pinged my phone, “Unboxed all the Christmas. I know it’s hard to see but is there anything you’d want to set aside? A lot of it’s junk, tbh.”
My Sister Is Clearing Out Mom and Dad’s House Read More »