When I was a kid, I thought it would be great to be a grownup, because grownups got to do whatever they wanted to do, whenever they wanted to do it. Now don’t laugh, I know you all thought it too. We all know better now. As adults, we get to direct the big picture…
Read MoreAll articles filed in September 2013
In Which I Am Having A Serious Case of Adolescent Identity Crisis
___1___ This week in novel writing I have been tackling the dreaded Query and Short Pitch. For those who are not initiated into this most stress-inducing of rites, let me enlighten you. Or not. Everyone has a different idea of what works, and it is the ultimate game of “read the teacher’s mind,” trying to…
Read MoreFiction: Peaches and Bread
“What d’you wanna be when you grow up?” asked Steve. “What kinda question is that?” responded Malachi. “I’m gonna be a machinist like my dad. Just like you. Right?” Steve didn’t answer. He lay on the soft grass in the shade of a peach tree, his hands behind his head, and stared up at the…
Read MoreA Fry Pan Can Be A Holy Thing
Over the weekend we had a memorial service for my grandmother. When it was all over, the family went to her apartment and looked through her things. Each of us was able to go home with items that belonged once to her. And I’m reminded of the wisdom of a faith that manifests the spiritual, the…
Read MoreBlogging, privacy issues, and a Mommy Blogger
The great thing about the online community is the way you can draw on the experiences of a much wider variety of people than ordinary life allows. You can have a conversation with a number of people at the same time, and everyone’s experiences and perspectives (via comment box) enrich each other. Yet sooner or…
Read More7 Quick Takes
___1___ There’s just nothing quite like being awakened at 3a.m. by every smoke detector in the house going off. EEE–EEE—EEEEEEEEEEEE. EEE–EEE—EEEEEEEEEEE…every one of them is high-pitched, but about a quarter tone off the others. Just imagine. They’re all linked, so no matter where you are in the house you’ll wake up. That’s good, except that…
Read MoreCars and Vans And Things That Go
When Alex was a baby, the time I felt most secure in my role as a mother (outside of nursing) was bath time. At bath time, I knew what I was supposed to do. There was a structure to it, and he loved it, so I felt confident that I was seeing to both his…
Read MoreAre You Ready For Some Serious Cuteness?
The Difference Between My Boys
My oldest child got in the car last week after school, his entire frame drooping. “The boys made fun of me,” he said. Knowing my children’s capacity for drama, I probed for more details. But the more I heard, the more I hurt inside. Because as best I could tell, it actually was as bad…
Read MoreSunday Snippets
Welcome to my corner of Sunday Snippets: A Catholic Carnival! Today RAnn asked us to share two Catholic blogs we enjoy. Kassie joined the Church just a couple of years ago and has a really fresh outlook on Catholicism. She hasn’t been blogging that often lately, and she’s been focusing more on fiction, but every time I…
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Kathleen M. Basi 