If the shoe fits

May 22, 2018May 22, 2018 ~ Tara R. ~ 4 Comments

“How is he today?” Flora clutched her fingers together in a knot, touching her chin with her thumbs. “He’s been asking for you.” Dr. George Gleason, his hands tucked characteristically into his white lab coat pockets, tipped his head toward a man in a wheelchair across the wide room sitting in a pool of sunshine … Continue reading If the shoe fits

They are my monkeys

May 11, 2017May 11, 2017 ~ Tara R. ~ 6 Comments

The boys were a grappling tangle of spindly arms and legs. Fingers snatched handfuls of hair and teeth gnashed down on tender skin. When a coffee table got kicked over, the crash of glass and wood brought down the wrath of the Grand Dam. “What’s this kerfuffle?” Grandma O’Reilly stomped into the room, pulling the wrestling … Continue reading They are my monkeys

Holiday tradition

September 22, 2014January 6, 2015 ~ Tara R. ~ 9 Comments

“It’s tradition.” “I know.” This was an overdue talk, but one I still didn’t want to have. “All I’m saying is maybe you could change it up a bit.” “Your grandmother passed it to me, and her mother passed it to her.” My mother refused to look at me, instead she focused on folding the … Continue reading Holiday tradition

Mother monologue

January 21, 2013January 6, 2015 ~ Tara R. ~ 28 Comments

The job is a bitch. More and more tasks get added to an already insane schedule. Things you never signed up for, things you know beyond a doubt you’re not qualified to perform. This is not ‘on-the-job’ training. It’s just throw her to the lions, then make her clean up the carnage. When I made … Continue reading Mother monologue

Archaeological dig

August 29, 2012January 5, 2015 ~ Tara R. ~ 20 Comments

The graveyard was a source of embarrassment, and no amount of pleading to move it had helped. The solution was to pretend it didn’t exist. Her greatest fear was that one of her grandchildren would wander into it and get hurt. So when young A.J. strode through the living room wearing one of his grandpa’s … Continue reading Archaeological dig

A new tenant

July 28, 2012January 6, 2015 ~ Tara R. ~ 17 Comments

Her bony finger, shroud in a white cotton glove, stroked the nursery armoire, seeking out evidence of the child who once slept in the room, inspecting for dust lingering where it wasn’t welcome. The Trifecta weekend challenge is to write a 33-word opening line to [our] book, an incipit.