Putting down roots doesn’t always come easy — A year after we moved into our dream house, we realized the previous owner’s gardening aspirations far surpassed our own. With our new tractor, we moved small boulders and ripped out acres of weed cloth. We dug out the old growth and pulled barrels full of weeds. When it was…

I wished someone had given me this advice before I found my haters. — I’m a storyteller by nature. My children will tell you they are scarred by the ridiculous cautionary tales I made up over the years. Even Christmas trees can come to life and maim children who try to steam the tape off their presents before December 25, just ask them. I…

A past kindness changed my life and had an unexpected ripple effect. — My daughter is a nurse, a fact of which I am immensely proud. At only 23, she has handled the children and the elderly, the fatally ill and the marginally injured alike, with expert care. …

Some stories are so ridiculous they can only be true. — I arrive at the restaurant to meet my friend, Bob, for lunch. He is late, so we immediately sit down and order our $3 “Chicks and Eggs” special with a couple of steaming cups of joe. Our chosen meeting place is ChickenHaus, a Garland staple, at least if the staple…

Three little words can mean so much between a parent and child. — Three little words. “I hate you,” she screamed in anger, a mere foot from my face. I took a deep breath and counted to ten for both of our sakes. Truthfully, I could have counted to ten thousand and I’m not sure it would have made a difference. My blood…

When falling in love failed, I tried to disappear into the clouds instead. — The breeze blows, whipping my dress around my calves. I stare up into the hazy afternoon sky, momentarily unaware of my surroundings. My head is in the clouds, my focus on the fluffy cumulus cotton interspersed with cerulean blue. A honk from a passing car alerts me that my dress…

What I thought of as a cliché has become the central theme of my life. — The tea spilled out of the pot, dripped down the counter, and flowed across the floor. Rivulets of honey brown liquid followed the grout line to the edge of the cabinets and then disappeared out of view. …

I finally understand this stage of motherhood. — I’m wide awake after only a couple of hours of sleep. I stare blankly at the ceiling as the tears fall quietly. Yesterday, my family had Christmas together. Today, I feel lost and empty. What now? my brain screams into the silence. I ask myself this question after every holiday…

He doesn’t know how I burn for him. — My perfume has soured in the suffocating heat. Instead of “passion with a touch of dark musk,” I smell vaguely like black pepper and freshly mowed grass with an undercurrent of desperation. I pound the still hot pavement heading for the neon lights of the bar. I stumble on the…