editor’s note: May is National Mental Health Awareness month. We all have stories of troubled times, and we need to do our best to lessen the stigma of getting help. Here is my story. I slowly open my eyes to the sight of an empty chair. My pulse is slow, my breathing light, but my … More The Assassination of Shame

To all the moms out there that sit in the hot sun watching a game you never played and yelling at a complete stranger about a rule you know nothing about, all for the sake of helping your kid win. This day is for you! To the mom that sits huddled in the corner of … More Mother’s Day

The setting sun tries hard to get her attention, to turn her around, to give him one more look before he fades away into the night. She has just sat down on the deep red leather stool the hugs the copper topped bar, and the sun can’t stand that she is here now, coming into … More An Old Fashioned Lady

The blue plastic plate makes the whole display simply “pop” with glam and grace. Who else but a seven year old would think to make such a display of boring into fabulous with the simple addition of color.  He takes the cheese and unwraps the red packaging, laying the two small circular portions perfectly on … More Jack and Cheese

I can still hear the gentle dripping of the rain from the roof onto my back patio as I walk through the house to the kitchen. The birds are starting to sing their morning serenade to one another, apparently letting everyone know that the rains have stopped, at least for now, and to prepare for … More Two Pages, One Picture, and a Prayer

The moon has a special way of marking his arrival. My friend is looking to talk again tonight and who am I to deny him his needs, for I need to talk as well, even though I really have nothing to say. Everything about my body yearns for the temporary death that the night brings, … More Moonlight Markings

The morning dew had just burned off the newly grown grass of the meadow as the cowboy pulled down the old dirt road. He couldn’t remember the first time he came down this road, nor could he count the times he had traveled it. To him, the road was just a part of his life, … More The Cowboy

The Women’s NCAA Basketball tournament started this week, did you know that? Did you fill out your men’s bracket in hopes of winning the workplace betting pool? Did you make one for the women too? There is a good chance you didn’t, seeing that most of the sporting news was about all the men’s basketball … More The “weights” of women

Here it is, the moment you have all worked so hard for, for so long. All those days of practicing free throws in the back yard with no one else around. All those weekend practices that were spent refining a game you grew up loving. You gave up a lot of things then, to get … More Miner to Miner

Most normal, loving, parents may spend countless hours awake in the middle of the night with tear soaked pillows, wondering if they are the worst parents in the world. These same caring and probably wonderful people will play out all the things they have done over the past several days and even months, picking apart … More Worst Parent in the World