This week has been a difficult one. Truth be told, I’m exhausted. My dad’s surgery did not go as planned, and he remains hospitalized. Traveling between his hospital, my parents’ home (both in Mississippi) and my own home and work will wear a girl down.
Some people are called to the mission field, but my dad was called to be a football coach. He took his calling as seriously as any evangelist, elected official or surgeon ever could.
Most days, I wear a single bobby pin in my hair.
Easter egg hunts remain a family favorite.
“Conscientious was not even the word for it.”
A week and a day — that’s how long I’ve called Baton Rouge home.
The theory of downsizing is a beautiful thing.
Way back in 1950, 10-year-old Larry Johnson lived in Empire, 60 miles south of New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. One day he found a pigeon that had a tag on it and became curious about the reasons why. His curiosity led him to …
Way back in 1993, I lived in a town in northeastern Slovakia within a few miles of the Polish border and about 100 miles from Ukraine. I arrived in Slovakia Jan. 12, 1993. The country was 12 days old. The general feeling of euphoria in Slovakia wa…
Sentimentalism, frowned upon among journalists, comes easy to me. I’ve learned to keep it at bay much of the time, but every now and then it overtakes me.
This column marks my 20th year writing a weekly column in Louisiana — and I'm happy to be sharing a column that's been Acadiana-focused in Baton Rouge. That’s 1,042 columns for those keeping score at home. I am full of gratitude for the opportunit…
Our marriage vows have been tested in the last week — and I’ve learned that I am much more particular than I ever realized. Due to a broken leg and subsequent surgery, I am on bedrest for two weeks. On doctor’s orders, I’ve had to use crutches to …
Abandoned, broken and obsolete things fascinate me more than ever.
Last week, in a social media post Brené Brown advised her readers to, “Stay awkward, brave and kind.”
This is my husband’s birthday weekend.
I once had a neighbor who cleaned out closets every weekend. I believe she had printed out a closet cleaning rotation schedule. Though she is an inspiration and I still adore her with my whole heart, my former neighbor and I do not share the close…
I was not supposed to be where I am right now.
A few weeks ago, the amazing Clare Cook of Basin Arts and Basin Dance Collective asked two other poets and me to collaborate with her and the dancers of Basin Dance Collective for their holiday performance. She wanted poetry to go along with dance.
The sounds of the holidays are distinct in my house. My family says I’m ear sensitive. I don’t like things too loud or too soft, basically a Goldilocks when it comes to ambient noise. There is a right volume for background music. When I’m working,…
The holidays make most of us remember friends from long ago. These friends may have helped us, laughed with us, danced with us or adventured with us.
My mother-in-law and I did not speak the same language.
What does a beautiful photograph of three cherubic children in Ireland have to do with surviving a storm in a tropical island jungle?
The rush of the holidays are upon us full force. As grateful as I am to be able to gather with those I love, the occasional blip of activity that reminds me of the pace of life before wearies me these days. I’m out of social practice.
Certainty is overrated, of this I am sure.
Twenty years ago this week, my family and I moved to Lafayette. It is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere. My children have grown up here — so have I. I am all about taking in a place, doing all the things, going all the places, but there are so …
Fourteen summers ago, my husband, daughters and I headed north to Arkansas to visit a friend. Who knew the visit would eventually lead to a country song?
In reality, I only spent five or six nights at Camp Wahi — time that ended up making a big impression.
Peeling back the curtain on the social media version of life, Wednesday of last week did not go as planned.
When my friend David D’Aquin texted me around 10 a.m. Sunday morning, he asked what I had going on. Having just finished one semester of grad school two days earlier and about to start a new semester the next day, I told him that it was my first d…
This week has been a reminder that it takes a village — not just to raise a child, but sometimes to get by as an adult. The week has also been a reminder of the value of big friendships, the topic of a 2020 book by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman.
The Indigo Girls weren’t fibbing.
Two weeks ago, Nancy Engberg, a friend from Wisconsin, joined 16 women and me to raft the Salmon River. Last week, I mentioned a miracle on the river. Engberg was a principle player in those events. She’s quick to add that for her the real miracle…
Outdoorsy is not a word my friends or family would use to describe me.
Both of my children are in college, so I decided to join them. In June, I started grad school with West Virginia University as a NewStart Fellow, working toward a masters in Media Innovations and Solutions.
We headed out in the nick of time to get ahead of the worst of the evacuation gridlock, believing we knew where Ida was headed but recognizing the inherent lack of certainty that comes with a hurricane.
My home has a tide. Relics from years ago make their way to the surface eventually. Last week, one of my favorite memories fought its way from the back of a drawer into my view and hands. I had forgotten there was photographic evidence of that day…
Based on experiences in a previous life, long ago, I vowed never to camp again. C-A-M-P was a four-letter word. I did not partake.
Elise Peltier Boutin was a college student when she interned nearly 15 years ago at a local newspaper with me as her editor. Now, she’s a mother of four and an English teacher at Rayne High School. This year she will teach senior English to 120 students.
If you haven’t tried the Living Room Olympics, you’ve still got time.
I got an Apple Watch back in 2015 shortly after they came out. I’ve worn it almost every day since. The fitness app of the watch has three rings that measure how many steps I take, how many hours I stand and the number of minutes I exercise and mo…
In another life a thousand miles away, I hosted a local radio/television cooking show. I hosted this show right before food television really took off. We moved to Louisiana when my show was at its modest zenith.
On July 4, my South African friends were sending me messages asking if I could help get them on “America’s Got Talent.”
I love a good neighbor — and have been blessed with some of the best. In three of my homes across the country and decades, I’ve been able to create amazing bonds with the children next door, down the stairs or across the street. By doing nothing m…
My dad loves red, white and blue.
Greer, my 23-year-old daughter was so happy when I suggested taking the free tram back to the car.
If the phrase “making memories” works for you, please keep right on using it.
“From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by E.L. Konigsburg was my favorite novel growing up. One of the reasons I loved the book when I first read it in the sixth grade was that Konigsburg gave her readers credit. She recognized and…
I had been planning all week to host a group of ladies for a potluck dinner and a meeting. They were to arrive between 6 and 6:30 p.m.
They did not get off to an early start.
Identifying the bones within that make us do the things we do as adults is a curious thing — like an anthropological dig within ourselves, our spirits, our souls.
