Published inGrowing Grief·PinnedMember-onlySaying Yes to DeathHow my late college instructor helped me understand my mother’s choice — When I was an undergrad at the University of Oregon over 25 years ago, there was no creative writing major offered, and so I applied to the university’s only other intensive writing option called the Kidd Workshops. Students worked with writing faculty and graduate students on prose or poetry in…Grief5 min readGrief5 min read
May 16Member-onlyFlash Fiction#sublife — She’s back in middle school at 48 years old. No, not as a student but as something much grittier, a player that requires both flexibility and unflappability. Not as a teacher, administrator or any type of staff — but as a substitute teacher. …Teaching2 min readTeaching2 min read
Jan 4Member-onlyAging UpwardCounting improvements instead of decline — I used to be a wall of a middle blocker in volleyball. I used to be able to stay up until 4am, snag three hours of sleep, and plow through the day no problem. Jet lag wasn’t even a thing. Start with the lyrics to any grunge song from the…Age3 min readAge3 min read
Nov 30, 2022Member-onlyBook Lists Make Me DepressedWhile the reader in me jumps for joy — As a writer, the only thing that depresses me more than the ubiquitous rejection letter, are lists like Books We Love by NPR or The 10 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times. As a reader, I relish these lists, like an adoring fan I take screen…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Nov 17, 2022Member-onlyMen and Music TimelineA playlist that spans over 35 years — 1985 — Portland, Oregon Ramone: Purple Rain, entire soundtrack. My first “going together” — 5th grade. Thanks for introducing me to the soundtrack to that rad new movie. Every single song on that white cassette tape is a musical piece of art. 1987 — Portland, Oregon Rob: With or Without…Love2 min readLove2 min read
Published inThe Motherload·Oct 21, 2022Member-onlyConsidering the Exit RowFor the first time in my adult life. — I’ve been on six college tours in the last six month with my high school senior, so my son and I have been on a plane together more often than usual as of late. But I don’t want to write about the college tours. Not about showing demonstrated interest or…Motherhood3 min readMotherhood3 min read
Oct 6, 2022Member-onlyThe Things We CarryCleaning out my mother’s apartment — “It was a devastating process — more brutal in its ruthless clarity than anything I’ve ever experienced or hope to again…” — Cheryl Strayed My mother died on a Monday, and five days later, on that Friday my brother, his wife, and I spent ten hours cleaning out her one…Grief5 min readGrief5 min read
Sep 23, 2022Member-onlyFlash Fiction FridayThe Click (389 words) — It all began with her memory of memory loss: when she was twenty her grandma slid into dementia, and then Alzheimer’s. Bernadette was 80 when she was diagnosed, and dead by 86. The last time she saw her grandma was at a rented beach house, the once primly woman then…Flash Fiction2 min readFlash Fiction2 min read
Sep 20, 2022Member-onlyFour SevenAhem….I mean Four Eight I wrote this post about my age last year when I was solidly 47, saved it as a draft and never hit publish. Here’s an excerpt: The hoodwinking is strong, and I constantly check myself when confronted with my age. When I see late twenty-somethings and…Women3 min readWomen3 min read
Sep 9, 2022Member-onlyFlash Fiction Friday241 words — Castro Stroll With a sweaty grip you push the stroller that chariots your drooling toddler, and you squint into the unrelenting sunbelt that skirts the fog in the Castro. You pass bars; Moby Dick and the Men’s Room, the storefronts postered with fuzzy asses and fisting, enormous black dildos and…Flash Fiction2 min readFlash Fiction2 min read
