Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

recent posts

about

Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: My Evolution

  • Loose Ends, Apologies and Clarifications

    I owe my kids an apology. I implied in XOXO Nina Barbara that they were slackers in the Mother's Day department. I didn't intend to, but nonetheless, reading back over it now, I understand why my sweet Tommy slipped a pressed flower into the card he sent me with a note explaining "I couldn't let…

  • Grateful for #53

    Tom turned 53 today. If you've read much of my blog, you know I never take birthdays for granted, but I'm especially grateful for each one of his we get to celebrate. I've spent too many hours sitting in hospital waiting rooms praying for him … come too close to losing him too many times.…

  • Heaven is a cool pond, a field of tall grass and some little frogs

    The dust disappeared about mid-morning yesterday. I noticed the sunshine seemed a bit brighter and the sight of the yellow wildflowers dancing in the breeze made me happy. Just thinking of their movement as dancing let me know my vision was beginning to clear. It didn't even matter that I was settling in for hours…

  • Dealing with the Dust Storms

    Depression settles into me like a fine dust, obscuring reality just enough to be an annoyance. It reminds me of the dust storms in the Texas panhandle my grandmother told me about – one minute its a sunshiny day, you're going about your business, whistling … and then this darkness rolls in, seeping into every…

  • Adding to the Mother’s Day Collection

    I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~ Abraham Lincoln I collect things … books, crosses, photographs. I also collect memories, tucking them away in my heart, filing them according to category, to be pulled out at a later date when they're needed.…

  • Luck, Love, Laughter … Motherhood

    When you think about it, life is so very fragile, so touch and go, and there are so many things that can go wrong – that do go wrong sometimes – that it's a miracle any of us are even here.  When you think about the pain of childbirth, the exhaustion of taking care of…

  • I Will Not Think About Food Today

    I will not think about food today. I will not think about the crunchy, dry-roasted peanuts I always have mid-morning … or the healthy salmon salad and triscuits I'd probably have for lunch … the Sweet 'n Salty Almond granola bar … the sweet Clementine oranges … the almonds  … the banana … the slice…

  • Hey Sonny, Who’s Your Cher?

    In other words, is there someone in your life who brings out the best in you? Someone who makes you better in some way? Now, once you've thought of someone in particular, try to explain how this person makes you better … That was easier said than done for me, when BlogHer asked me to…

  • Today’s the Day

    Yesterday I was stressing out, overwhelmed by how quickly May was filling up – its busy-ness is rivaling the Spring Green and wildflowers that are taking over Long Hollow. After months spent snuggling (and snoozing) on the couch, watching movies with Tom, suddenly I'm faced with a full dance card.  I'm socially out of shape. The…

  • Author. Who, Me?

    She treats me like a celebrity, this woman. No…scratch that. She makes me feel like a celebrity. Every year, for the past nine or ten years, she has invited me into her classroom to talk to her juniors, her AP English Language students, about writing. If for some reason our schedules don't mesh, she has…