In my book, “I’m Not The Pastor’s Wife (I’m just married to him) I opened up my life for the public to know who I am. The book was the very first time I let anyone except my therapist know much about me, but also, about my mom. She died my sophomore year in high […]
Now that Labor Day is here and summer will unofficially be over, it brings back memories of getting ready for school. In order to be prepared for my first day of a new school year I had the pleasure of driving with my parents to Donald’s on Payne Avenue, a store of legendary proportions on […]
I woke up at 4:30 am today. That is very unlikely for this night owl. I was jazzed up. Literally. A couple months ago I received an email from an organization in my area – the East Central Regional Arts Council (ECRAC). I had gone to one of their “come get to know us” meetings November of […]
I don’t consider myself a very funny person. Sure, I can make people laugh if I’m imitating someone who’s funny, or I develop a character, or embellish on a story. But as me, in person, most people don’t really laugh out loud at what I say. A couple years ago I took a stand-up comedy class […]
A week ago, I decided to treat myself to a bit of my heritage by attending the Spring Concert of the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Minneapolis, MN. Entering the Ukrainian Event Center brought back faint memories of me as a child, hoping the Ukrainian event my parents insisted on bringing my brothers and me to […]
There I sat, waiting for the slow hymn played by the organist to end. I noticed my foot tapping at a rapid pace. C’mon, can’t you play it any faster? As the hymn ended, the pastor introduced me and I walked up to the pulpit. Back in college you couldn’t pay me enough to speak […]
Going back to my alma mater – St. Olaf College – always feels a bit weird. There are so many changes since I graduated over 30 years ago. New buildings I can’t find my way around, all the roads on campus now have street signs, and the biggest change is that Ytterboe Residence Hall, rebuilt after […]
“So, what is it you exactly DO do?” – Young Frankenstein, the movie A couple years back I spent eighteen months holed up in my everything-I-do-for-a-living studio and was hardly able to escape the room as I wrote my manuscript for my first book. My husband would pop his head in the door @ 11:00 pm, tell […]