the aftershocks

January 12, 2010. Haiti. March 11, 2011.   Japan. June 27, 2011.  Tennessee.   Two of the three are catastrophic acts of nature.  The third on the list was a disaster that seemed anything but natural.   A day like any other day.  A mama shuffling to the door of the baby’s room, padding...

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crybaby

photo credit here   in the black of midnight at the Beasleys, when the house holds its breath,   you feel the quiet  settle over you, like a blanket.  the hum of the ice maker, the click of the heater – all lull you into exhausted sleep.   until. from the tiniest bed in the...

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the new has come …

photo credit here   It’s a time for resolutions — for burying vices and resurrecting good intentions. It’s a time for renewal – for a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning. It’s a time for hope – that last year’s pain might be crumpled alongside Christmas wrappings and discarded...

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there is still good …

photo credit here   the fourth digit on my left hand is ringed in a halo of white gold and diamonds  and i blush proud as the cashier at the grocery store names it the prettiest she has ever seen.   not one hour later, tears burn hot against the backs of my eyes, pricked fresh from the...

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the superman

photo credit here there’s a reason  that Hollywood keeps making superhero movies.   here it is:  we keep watching them. why?   my humble opinion: because the good guy wins.   not so in life.   we trudge daily through a world where beauty is marred by brokenness, where headlines...

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a birthday invitation …

  he would have been two…   his legacy has touched  many more than that number…   join us to celebrate Bane – and to raise funds for those his legacy will touch next.     BANEBOW 5K FUN RUN/WALK Saturday, October 22, 2011 @ 9:00 AMMontgomery Bell State Park1020...

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feeling the burn

  two years old  and not knowing what curiosity did to that poor cat, i steadied myself against legs of ironing board and pulled hard on the cord of a sizzling iron, no doubt expecting to climb rope up to that funny table where my mama would sway her hips and hum, doing the pressing.  ...

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a wordless wednesday

today, my words are all breathless prayers sent heavenward … tomorrow, a reflection posted here on what it means to  mark a calendar year  without this face. please pray, friends.

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when you’re the big sister …

  you know things.   you know things about babies and  how they should act.  you remind the babies of these things.   you know things about parents and how you can get them to fudge on silly rules about bedtimes and treats and the like.   you learn fast how to use these things to...

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falling in love, again.

  you might be sitting across a table, exchanging nervous glances and thousand-watt grins, on your first excursion  back into dating after a hard break-up …   or maybe you’re having your fingers  bathed in puppy breath, staring into the begging eyes that peek through the cage at a local...

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welcome

  at long last, tears of joy.   a tiny new one whose name was chosen because it means “my joy is found.” welcome to the world:   Bayo Shalom Drake Beasley born June 22, 2011 at 12:32 am 8 pounds, 6 ounces of pure muscle 20 inches loved   a sweet baby boy, wrinkled and sleepy,...

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