Healing From an Affair One Ride at a Time. — Do you remember the final moment you trusted your partner— and the long road spent recovering from the betrayal afterward? I do. On my first bike ride after I learned I would soon be facing a divorce, it took every bit of resolve just to push myself up the first hill. I cried, but no one noticed because it was a hot day, and I just swiped away the gritty tracks running…

Unraveling of deception, lies, and narcissism within my Italian-American family. — Inside my father’s dresser drawer were usually a few pennies, nickels, and, if I were super lucky that day, a quarter or two. After work, he would empty his pockets and drop the coins into his top drawer. …

On departures and the discovery of a dog’s ashes and old wildflower seeds in my underwear drawer. — The hummingbirds recently flew away. I excitedly watched as the last baby flapped her fragile wings and began to miraculously hover in the air above me. Mama had built a tidy nest, right above my patio door. …

…And What Were You Looking for in Quinn Gallagher’s Pants? Just when America thought it had a belly full of conspiracy-theories, rabid homophobia, Christian Nationalism, and Shooters — a Hooters-like establishment, with gun slinging gals clad in tight t-shirts and short denim shorts — we get Lauren Boebert in her latest bizarre saga, Theatergate: Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert will soon be running for office against other Republican candidates and Democrat Adam Frisch, who is a formidable opponent with a hefty war chest of funds. Lauren’s claims to moral high ground have frequently clashed…

How my mom and I finally found peace together. — Her breathing was jagged, as if at any moment it could simply stop. Somehow though, it kept going like her body didn’t know how to shut itself down, a default setting hardwired for survival. “That’s called the death rattle,” Betty, the nurse’s aide, pointed out as she covered my mom’s…

The absurdity of it all is pissing me off. — Right now, in Mississippi, there is no longer a right to an abortion even if you have been a victim of incest. You’d better report a rape to law enforcement expediently, or you’ll be forced to carry your rapist’s offspring. Incest and rape, needless to say, are repugnant crimes and…

______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Currently: For weeks, my partner and I have had an aggressive, delusional family member, appearing to suffer from extreme mental illness, harass and threaten the people around him — and the law and mental health system have done nearly nothing to help him or us. Two weeks ago, his…

Or just a super rant from a tenacious female who failed to mellow with age. — Face it, guys, you thought we held power over you when you could see us — a wink, a sly smile, a come-hither stare. Uh-huh! Well, you ain’t seen nothing, Baby, just wait until you witness what we do in our invisible universe! Do we set your Spidey Senses a’tingling…

Today, I ventured out to try a new Mexican restaurant. I had a coupon, and if you know me, a coupon is rarely wasted where I am concerned. The new restaurant was formerly a bar, and I think some of the patrons from the last place still visited the place, and perhaps hadn’t even noticed the change in ownership or the new name. I was seated next to two men, whom I was close enough that I could have reached over and touched them, but of course I had no desire to do that, so I just listened in to their enlightening discussion as I waited for my lunch.