She’s sick. A virus, most likely. She never complains, so when she does–I know it’s bad. She wants me to lay with her. To stroke her braids and tell her she’ll feel better soon. She says a little boy in her class was “dismithed” today because he had a headache, too. Her daddy gives up […]
Three things happened in Houston the fall of 1950, when King girls moved home: the bones of a factory, the width of an entire city block, disappeared without a witness or a trace; every coma patient on the 7th floor of Memorial Hospital suddenly awoke; and Lena Bea King, Light Incarnate, Defender of the Galaxies, […]
If you want to know what a normal person’s day going to one of the biggest (and best, in my opinion) cancer centers in the world is like–MD Anderson totally has a website. If you want to know what my trips are like–read on… 11:20AM Dropped off at the airport by one of my husband’s […]
You started crawling two days before your first birthday. Your sister was running by then. Holding things. Had I not spent enough time with you? She takes most of my time and you were so content to cling to my chest and watch. You still won’t hold you bottle. You can, but you won’t. Other […]
I was a head coach at 22 and I loved it. The kids were funny, sweet, and caught up in that weird in-between space that happens in high school — being a kid and an almost grown-up at the same time. They were amazing. And a constant reminder of how much I thought I knew […]
Coaches rent. The big-timers buy, but the younger coaches, the newer coaches — rent. You rent because each job is temporary. You rent because it’s what you can afford. You rent because you leave. We moved to Lubbock when my daughter was three months old. She caught her first cold in Lubbock. She took her […]
I could’ve lied to her. This is her first big death. We’ve killed our share of plants and fishes, but this guy was here when she got here. He let her crawl over his back and tolerated her slappy toddler pets. I’m convinced he was the first to know I was pregnant. He would press […]
Lena’s Baby Brother is a thoughtful and humorous story about the changes that take place in a household after a new baby arrives. Released 4/2/19 Available here and on Amazon. Signed copies are available when you order from Liza Dora Books.
She’s seen me sick so often. And so often, with me, pregnant looks so sick. She brings her Kindle and her headphones into bed, because she knows I sleep lightly. She tucks herself in next to me and I let her, even though I’m burning up. “Are you asleep yet, Momma?” she asks. Her whisper […]
Raise your hand if you don’t really know what Trunk-or-Treat is. <— That’s me on 10/30/18. I mean I sort of knew the concept—the world is scary, now, so let’s teach children to approach strangers’ cars and take candy from their trunks—but, I had not experienced such a thing. So fast forward to this year […]
I don’t really talk about my anxiety much in this space, mostly because I prefer to treat it homeopathically by shopping for survival equipment on Amazon. When I was still in nursing school we got a call early in the morning before rounds that said they were pretty sure that the patient from our hospital that […]
I wrote a blog post over a year ago about trying to come to grips with being a family of three. It was an emotional post and, as always, the comments from friends were supportive and kind, but one response in particular stuck out. A friend of my parents said that after her first son […]
“You look beautiful, Mom,” she says from the doorway. But I don’t. I’m still 30 pounds overweight and my hair is a mess. My jeans don’t fit and my skin is breaking out. I have eye make-up on–possibly from weeks ago. She’s wandered to the bathroom as I’ve just finished washing my face. She places […]
He’s crying again. I throw off the covers and reach for the sweater at the end of my bed. I pull on my socks and some sweat pants. He’s still crying when I reach his door and push it gently open. His back is arched and he’s in a panic. He must be, to wake […]
A local reoccurrence they call it. Same cancer. Same spot. I knew 4 years ago, even after the first doctor and the first surgery, there was a chance. A 30-50% chance, actually. Ocular Melanoma of the Conjunctiva is a rare cancer. It’s a shitty cancer. But it’s a pretty visible cancer. And it’s back. A […]
