Each of you has received the same gift. Although it looks like a simple pot of soil, it's so much more. Each container holds six starter bulbs from descendants of mom's garden.
In 2001, after the cancer had set in, mom invited me to her house. It was the last time I went there. She asked Hannah if she would like to harvest the garlic in her backyard. I helped Hannah dig them up. I only chose the ones that grew right beneath my old bedroom…
You terrorized me for as long back as I could remember up until I was fourteen. You did things to me that no little girl should ever know.
I suffered horrible nightmares all my life and found no peace by day. When I sought help, I was removed from my family, placed in foster care, and branded a liar.
When the Child Protection System decided my claims were unfounded, I was returned home. You beat me nearly senseless for my actions and tried to force yourself…
September 17, 2001
Dear Mom,
It's been so long since I wrote anyone an old-fashioned paper and pen letter, the first thing I noticed was how terrible my penmanship has become. I've relied too long on keyboards and spell-checkers.
I hope you're doing ok. I know I should call more often and feel bad that I don't. I want you to know though that it's not because I don't care or don't think about you- quite the contrary. I think about you all the time and…
The sky is wrapped in winter's gray wool and the trees sleep naked, enduring the damp, cold air. The birds huddle together on the branches like little old men in puffy coats. I wish for summer and think of the days we spent at the lake.
I sit in my lounge chair on the beach, a mother on her summer throne, and watch you play. Three sleek little otters in psychededelic swimsuits. Your laughter; high, light and carefree, is caught on each water drop as you…
There were no rental trucks available in my small home town of Gustine, so I had to rent one in Los Banos. The plan was to drive down in my car and one of us would drive the truck back.
You drove there as I sat quietly in the passenger seat, still tired from a hard week at work. We stopped early for lunch on the way down and barely spoke through the meal. When we got back in the car, you tuned the station to…
Hi, my name is Desiree and I'm a working mother. I have three children, all girls, aged nine, five, and three. This is my story.
Five years ago I took over operations of my husband's business. It all started innocently enough- we needed more income for our growing family than the business could provide so one of us needed to get an outside job. The most logical choice was he. It wasn't too bad at first. The business wasn't very busy and I had time to…
May 1997
The young woman starts on her path in life with hopes and dreams yet to be realized. She has a world of possiblities before her.
The young woman, now a Mother, holds her newborn daughter and looks into the eyes of the future. She holds the child close and warm and safe. The child learns security.
The Mother stands at the stove cooking the family meal. With one hand she tends the meal, with the other she tends the child on her hip. The…
It came down to a game of Rock, Papers, Scissors. The six of us, all grown children, and one small storage shed full of boxes and second hand furniture. The remaining accumulation of two peoples' lives. Most of the valuable stuff, if you could call the possessions of a truckdriver dad and a waitress mom "valuable", were already gone. The contents of the boxes was all that remained.
Well used pots and pans that had seen thousands of simple yet filling meals. A small black comb…