Do you give your current self an A+? (Photo by Thinkstock.) We’re going deep this week. I’m not going to lie; it’s largely because I’ve been in a bit of a self-reflective mode lately. Personally, I go through a version of this exercise around the first of the year. I don’t call them [...]
When I became a mother, my world changed. Well, actually, to be fair, my world changed during pregnancy. I had to take time off work because I was so, so, very sick 24/7. I was tired and miserable and scarcely functional until I was about 23 weeks along. But even the physical changes and [...]
When I was growing up, the internet was still in its infancy. (Man, do I feel old.) So, as a kid, I had to do most of my research from books. I used card catalogs and, later, unfathomably slow (by today’s standards) computer searches, to find these books. For my school research projects starting at [...]
I have things to say. Lots and lots of things. And I need to be heard. So, I write. Some people speak eloquently. I am not one of those people. So, I write. Since childhood, I've loved the written word. (Even as a 6-year-old, I never took the shortcut on an assignment.) And I continue [...]
An eight-months-pregnant woman in her late 20s stands in baggy jeans and a pinkish blouse overlaid with a white cardigan. Her skin is shiny (damn you, pregnancy hormones), her brown hair a little frazzled (which makes sense because she has a toddler and is pregnant), and her smile is huge. Standing in front of her [...]
Is there anyone who doesn't love to hate on autocorrect? Well, now's your chance. And, people: When you complete today's writing prompt, please, please, please SHARE your words with us. In the comments here or on Facebook ... Wherever you prefer to share, I want to see them. Because I believe there is great humor [...]
The other night I was listening to my husband and my son playing together. The sound of them laughing together is one of the things that brings me the most joy in life. And it made me think: How would I explain this feeling to someone else? How could I write a description of this [...]
Surprise. It's an emotion that can bring absolute joy ... or the opposite. But one thing is for sure: Surprises are memorable. And the older we get, the rarer they become. I watch my son — all of 2 years old — and the littlest things surprise and delight him. The backyard sprinklers gushing water [...]
One year ago this month, I bought a new car. It’s a mom car. Previously, I’d been driving a two-door Honda Civic that was 13 years old. I loved my Civic. It was reliable and got good gas mileage. But it was far from ideal for the mother of a 14-month-old. I hate, hate, hate [...]
When I taught magazine writing at ASU, the coursework was fairly straightforward — three well-reported feature stories of different lengths. But during our lecture time, I saw an opportunity to work on skills that may or may not be necessary in the stories they were working on. So, during that time, I invited (er, required) [...]
