I heard once that girls are known for their crazy-complex, multifaceted, emotionally-complicated ways. Well, actually I've heard this like a bajillion times throughout my life. So, I've been doing some thinking. And I've come to the conclusion that girls really aren't that hard to figure out after all. Because actually, believe it or not, they only need like three things. Let me break it down for you. All girls, big or small, old or young need a trio of:Food. (And by food, I mean, chocolate.) Love. (This is a big one, so go heavy on it.)And lastly, but certainly not leastly, they need sleep. Now, I'll be the first to admit that a girl does indeed have a way of complicating things. It's often hard to tell which of these three things she needs at which time. All too often, the symptoms [...]

I have been loved all my life. Yes, even the earliest part of my life--birthed to a mom and dad who really didn't have much to give--so wrecked they were by drugs and alcohol. Even then, they loved me the best they could.  And they loved me most when they let me go...so I could be loved better.  And the Ma and Pa I have now? They loved me deeply. (Still do.) Now, they weren't perfect either. There are some days they would probably like to erase. (Don't we all have those days?) And even though there were hard, hard times between us, I always knew, always knew that they loved me more than anybody. I never once doubted that. Not even on the loud yelling days. Or the it's-too-awkward-to-even-talk-to-you-days. Now, that's a lot of love. And this husband of mine? He really loves me wel[...]

Today I felt the winter blues, in a big way. I looked out my window and only saw shades of gray. Gray and lots of white. Empty gray limbs. Lifeless gray sky. Mean old crow. And a yard full of snow. (Wow...I wasn't actually trying to rhyme there.) Anyways, it's not that I don't like snow, it's just that I've seen an awful lot of it here lately. And I'm starting to forget what the world looks like in shades of green. Northern winters do have a way of making you feel as if they'll last forever. I started thinking that I need to get out of here! I need to go back to that beach and soak up some sun. I actually started to cry a little. And pray..."Lord, please help. I've really been missing the spring. But I know there's people out there that feel this kind of barrenness in their soul. They[...]

Go ahead, loud, crazy, rambunctiously busy world...spin away.  Run this way and that way and make your racket and live your frantic, frenzied, stressed-out life. But not me. Not this girl. I might never be here again. I'm going to be still to see.I'll go take a peek at her while she sleeps. I'll gaze at her long. I'll sneek in his room, trying not to trip over the blocks and the cars and I'll just enjoy this moment of quiet. I'll enjoy his being little. He's almost two already and nearly too heavy for me to carry. I won't wish him away. Not even when he's loud...and boy is he loud. I'll pause long enough to admire the light streaming through. I'll even rest. Why is everybody in such a hurry, anyway? Is life really more fun if you rush? Are you somehow worth more if you cram all the ac[...]

Photo credit Did you know that when we were just little folks, me and my brother invented the boogie dance? I mean, we invented the real, true, authentic boogie dance. There's a lot of boogie dancers out there, but we were actually the first to ever boogie. Like, truly boogie. It happened on a crisp fall day. Or maybe it was a crisp late-winter day, I don't actually remember. I just know it was a cold day because we were only allowed to play out in the woods in the front of our house during the cold months, before the snakes came out. (When you grow up in Arkansas/copperhead country, that's just the rules.)We were doing our usual woods exploring. We were always exploring, well, except for when we were playing like we were Indians, building tepees and booby traps. But on this part[...]

It's always a good idea to have a plan in the winter. You just never know when you might be faced with an emergency situation of glacial proportions. Freezing temperatures can descend upon you with rapid speed and you're gonna need to be prepared. And by prepared, I mean, you're gonna need a source of food. Some sort of nourishment that will hold you over till your next snack. So, unless you're lookin' to conk out in the bitter cold, you better listen up.  Mistake #1. Eating snow. Don't do it. (And especially never, ever, ever eat yellow snow--ugh, I can't believe I even have to mention that!) See, a lot of people mistake this fluffy white stuff as a substantial food source. Um, don't be that person.Icicles, however...now, they're altogether different. Especially ones with a bit [...]

The #1, top, very best thing about our vacation to the beach...that is, according to Bubby: Hey Bubby, remember when we got to go on that vacation and we rode on that airplane and we flew all the way to Florida? And we saw the beach?Yeah. And that elevator.  Uh, yes, but remember that airplane? Wasn't that cool that we got to ride up there in the sky? And we saw those clouds, we were on top of the clouds in that really big huge AIRPLANE!Yeeaaah. It took us to that elevator. Well, actually it took us to the beach. Remember? Can you say beeeeeeach? Wasn't the beach amazing?Yeah. We went down to that beach so we could get on that elevator. Um...actually we rode the elevator so we could go down to that beach. Ohhh, remember the dolphins? We saw DOLPHINS!  No. I don't rememb[...]

I love the snow. I love it because, unlike the rain, it falls so slowly, so silently, so gently. No hurries. Just drifting down, down, down...then rest.  Sometimes in the early morning, I get up to look out my window. I turn on the outdoor light and look up at the sky, just to watch it snowing. All is hushed. It makes me feel quiet inside.  When it snows, all the people have to slow down. And I like it when all the people slow down because it seems like, most of the time, everybody's always in a hurry. It feels like we're always just busy trying to get to the next thing. Sometimes I wonder if we've lost our way a little bit. Like, we think we're somehow more valuable or more important if we always have a next thing to get to. So, we fill up our whole lives with lots of things to [...]

It's hard being a girl sometimes. Or maybe it's just that it's hard being a human. You know, when your emotions are telling you one thing and you're sure it's not the truth, but you just have the hardest time not believing it. And don't you just hate it when you try to tell yourself differently and you do a bit of explaining to your feelings that they're not gonna rule you, and they're not gonna trick you, but try as you may, your emotions just won't obey? (Big sigh.) That's hard. Sometimes I'm going about life and I'm doing just fine...until I hear that whisper. My feelings start talking. You know, Maggie, you really have a lot to be afraid of. Life is good now, but just you wait. You won't be able to handle it. Bad things will happen and you'll lose hope. You'll lose it all. You're going[...]