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Category Archives: Happiness
Blooming Out of Season
Nearly a decade ago I planted two camellias in container pots just outside the front door of our home. I never thought they would live for long–in containers, mind you– in the mercurial climate of East Tennessee. But my sister, … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Blooming, Dance, Happiness, Ideas, John Irving, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Stage, Women
Tagged Billie Holiday, Blooming, Camellias, Carmen McRae, Growing, Happiness, Maria Cole, Nat King Cole, Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark, Netflix, New Year, Stanley's Greenhouse, Winter
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His Heart’s Eye Is Open
I grieve for each passing year that Daddy is not here to fervently hope that Clemson can beat Alabama for the NCAA football Championship. I grieve that he missed by 11 months seeing his great-grandson Lincoln’s endlessly fascinating face. I … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Family, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts, Wonder
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Childhood, Daddy, East Tennessee, grief, life, Lincoln, Mary Oliver, New Year's Eve 2018, sorrow, The Uses of Sorrow
1 Comment
Finding Darcus
Since at least 1992, I have been searching for my grandmother, Darcus Montgomery. She gave birth to my father in April 1935, and only four months later–in early August–she died. Naturally I assumed Daddy’s mother died from childbirth complications, and … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Dementia, Family, Happiness, Home, Knoxville, Love, Uncategorized, Women, Wonder
Tagged ancestry, Darcus Montgomery, family, Knoxville, Latter Day Saints, Mormon, Tennessee
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Under the Influence
A possible way forward in the middle of turmoil and strife: adventure, balance, curiosity, dreams, education, and being found together. Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Books, Childhood, Courage, Education, Family, Friends, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute, Uncategorized, Wonder, Writing
Tagged adventure, balance, curiosity, dreams, Education, Fred Rogers, Great Atlantic Shoe Company, Hannah Gadsby, Jeanette Winterston, John Mellencamp, Lady Vols Basketball, Mr. Rogers, No Better Than This, Save Some Time to Dream, The UT Lady Vol basketball program, Won't You Be My Neighbor
1 Comment
Backyard Excavation
After 15 years in a house we loved but that had grown too large for us, we decided to downsize and drag fewer possessions through life. We wanted to move to an area (1) we could afford, (2) in a … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music
8 Comments
A Blue Moon Easter Eve
I haven’t written a blogpost since January because the last two months have been a blur of  packing, downsizing, moving, and all the details that such a nightmarish task entails. At times we have wondered if we should have left … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Happiness, Home, Knoxville, Writing
Tagged a blue moon, Easter, garden art, goat, Knoxville, Old North Knox, Stanley's Greenhouse, West Knoxville
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Ode to Little Man
I have a dark-eyed, adorable obsession: the Little Man who a month ago was born into our lives. Last year my son Justin married the love of his life Tracy. From their love, has come their son Lincoln, the already … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Love
Tagged Adam, America, children, democracy, Emma Lazarus, France, Lady Liberty, Lincoln, Little Man, making a difference, Mark Twain, The New Collossus, the Statue of Liberty, Walt Whitman, Women, women's right to vote, women's rights, your poor, your tired
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