Linda Gray Sexton
I am standing in my attic, looking at the precarious piles of banker’s boxes stacked toward the roof, the five chests of Christmas ornaments, the over-sized carton of old wrapping paper and bows. The yellowed art prints, the discarded lamps, and the spotted mirrors. All the stuff of years past. So many things I should…
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How do you express your love? Some people rely on a Valentine’s dinner, or reveal their feelings with a supportive word and a tender embrace. Others show their affection by cooking a meal for those they care about. I am, unabashedly, one of the latter. During my childhood, love was often overshadowed by my mother’s…
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Who likes to have their picture taken? Movie stars? Celebrities? Egotists? I can think of only a handful who enjoy being captured by an objective eye in a permanent way. Many of us are shy around a camera, smiling too broadly or not enough, opening our eyes as if we’ve been poked, or squinting as…
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All of us have daily challenges, and sometimes tackling them can be demoralizing. We try so hard, whether it is in climbing out of bed to face a routine that bores us, or in trekking off every day to a demanding job. Or maybe it’s in maintaining our patience with our whiny or needy children—whom…
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Read! Read! Read! How much and how often do you open a book? I must confess I am a read-a-holic, spending every lunch–and sometimes dinner, when my husband is watching the hockey game–with my Kindle propped up in front of my plate. Sadly, however, the majority of people in the U.S. read only rarely–even highly…
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Dogs will be dogs–and skunks will be skunks. One night two weeks ago, our family of black and white spotted Dalmatians introduced themselves to a family of black and white striped skunks, under the pine trees in our backyard. Not surprisingly, none of the six were interested in making friends with each other. After some…
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This past October, I received some news that I was reluctant to write about here. The novel I had been working on, and believed I’d finished, was judged by my literary agent to need more work before she took the book out to market. Why did I choose not to share this disappointment–one that was…
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The start of the New Year has me thinking about endings, beginnings, and the paths we take to lead us from one chapter to the next. How did you choose your direction? How did you decide to be a botanist, a nurse, or a stay-at-home Dad? For some, life’s course comes naturally–as for those who…
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Last week, my son emailed me with thanks and joy when he read my last newsletter and learned of my plan to visit him in New York City, as his “big present in a small package” for this coming Christmas. (Well, I guess his gift won’t be a surprise after all, no matter how cleverly…
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Does every important present come in a big package? The answer just might be “no.” At this season, most of us are looking for the ultimate gift, ready to give whatever we can dream up and afford, hoping to please the ones we love. Or, at least, I am. This morning, my son answered an…
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