This Thanksgiving, stop. Halt the cooking, put your flour-dusted, pumpkin-splattered ear up to the knobby pink mountain of meat and listen. When your uncle walks in wearing a Let's Go Brandon shirt and you’re tempted to rip it from his body, bend him over the table, and flay him right there, pause. When they’re late. Again. And …
Tag: God
This Happened. And I Choose to See it This Way.
First, some background. Like many writers, I'm an introvert. Which is to say, social situations give me the willies. Sometimes diarrhea. So when I was invited to participate in a Bible study with twenty other women, let's just say I was ambivalent. My dear friend brought me the study guide. The kind of book I …
Continue reading This Happened. And I Choose to See it This Way.
Happy Brain Surgery Anniversary to Me
April 6th, 2018. It was the Cleveland Indians' home opener. I was at University Hospital having an opener of my own. Brain surgery. A year later the skin on my head is still tight. I often run my fingers along the dents in my skull. They can't be seen because my superhero surgeon managed to …
Day of Words: Christmas
November 23 was designated the International Day of Words, by the Fundación César Egido Serrano to promote "the word as a bond of humanity, against any violence." What can mere words do, you ask, against any violence? Being a lover of words, I believe they can do great wonders. Consider the words of Christmas. Peace. Merry. Bright. …
My Lightning
There once was a woman, a wife, a mother, a teacher, a writer, a child of God. In that order. She was interrupted. It was a lightning strike. (Your chances of that happening are like your chances of being stru—) Lightning: March 8th, in the middle of teaching a class. A brain tumor. After the strike …
Strong Enough
We’re all helpless. Sometimes it’s more obvious. I am Obvious, capital “O.” How I usually fool myself about helplessness is by doing hard things. Doing hard things makes me feel strong. I can overcome the next hard thing and the next...but with my tumor, there is no amount of running, no HIIT routine, no weightlifting …
What’s in my Mind, Besides a Tumor
The first time I recall being comforted by God, it was an intellectual decision. I was twenty and living in a section of SanDiego where you couldn't get a pizza delivered. Too dangerous. So when I heard the following logic my heart was soft to it: Imagine you are in an alleyway in a bad …
Pray for Me
I don't know how to start this, but I've always been a fan of the snapshot of the mind. Here is the snapshot of my mind. Contrary to what you may be thinking, this is not going to be funny. Some of you I know in life, and some are my friends through this blog. Either way, …
Winging it with INK
I credit several people with my tattoo. First Katae, who made the whole thing happen and gave me a forever birthday gift. Next my husband, who puts up with this manifestation of a midlife crisis. My daughter Tory, whose trip to the parlor (do they call it that anymore?) got us talking about matching tattoos. …
To You. From the Turkey
This Thanksgiving, stop. Halt the cooking, put your flour-dusted, pumpkin-splattered ear up to the knobby pink mountain of white meat and listen. As you scoop your third helping of baked marshmallows with a dab of sweet potatoes, and your nether regions fuse to the chair, take note. When your uncle walks in wearing a Make …
KL Griffiths 