I’ve always prided myself on being a safe driver. The only time I’d gotten into a car accident was when I had my learner’s permit. I backed Nana’s Grand Marquee into something in her garage and busted out one of the taillights. With some elbow grease and a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, it was as good as new. No one was more surprised than I when my 2002 Honda Civic, Florence, was sideswiped by an 18-wheeler on US-29 South in Danville, barely an hour into a five-hour road

Fourteen Protestants—twelve of us lifelong Lutherans—filed into the back rows of the Cathedral of St. Helena for Sunday morning mass. ...

Monday, September 1, 2025 My heart is bursting with gratitude.  I woke this morning without an alarm—my body rising on its own around...

At least eleven people can squeeze into a mother-baby room at the local hospital.  Four of them are small—they fit on laps or in the...

When I sit to write, I’m distracted.  Right now, Bear (my 100-pound golden shepherd) is lying on the couch with his head in my lap....

The vikings beat longswords on their shields and erupted into a battle cry. Like the tide pouring in, the warriors rushed from their...

I moved to Central Virginia in August of 2015 for my freshman year of college. We took two cars—my 2002 Honda Civic named Florence and my...

People haunt us long after they leave us. Mom and I just returned from Helena, Montana. We took a quick trip to celebrate my cousin’s...

My alma mater celebrated its commencement last weekend. It has been six years since I walked the stage and received my college diploma....

I grew up in a three-dog household. My dad trained Nelly, our first dog—a purebread yellow Labrador retriever. The other two, Nikki and...

My mom always says I’m a great tour guide.  Whenever she and my dad come to visit me in Central Virginia, I always have an itinerary of...

Last time I returned an Amazon package at Staples, the drop-off location was near the print center. However, when I walked into the...

Nelly I remember bringing home our first family dog, Nelly. She was an eight-week-old yellow lab puppy. My brother and I were so excited...

When was the last time you did something that scared you?  I’ll go first. Last weekend, I participated in an author festival at my local...

I’ve always been tall. When I was a child, I was at least a head taller than every other kid in my class. Tucked away in my Wunderkammer...

I believed in Santa Claus for an inappropriately long time. In the parking lot of a PetSmart, I asked my mom a question that would change...

C appuccino in hand, Suzanna stomped down the sidewalk, dreading the day ahead. She’d woken in a funk after suffering through bizarre...

My husband and I have a little inside joke—at least, I think that’s the category it would fall into.  Whenever we have experiences that...

It has rained almost every day for the past two weeks.  The pasture across the street from my house has been shrouded in a thick layer of...

My best friend and I have been long distance for more than a decade.  When my family moved from the only town I’d ever known to a new...