A fictional tale to celebrate mothers in the thick of raising a family. The idea of Queen for a Day began with a text. I was leaning against an office cubicle browsing through emails on my phone when a message popped onto the screen, “I am now a member of the suspended kids club too” [...]
Last week my 18-year-old son came into the kitchen while I was fixing dinner. He held a closed hand in front of me. “Open your hand mom.” I looked up at his smirk. “No”, I said. “I don’t trust you.” He pushed his hand closer to me. “Come on mom, just hold your hand out.” [...]
The following is a relaying of events, which took place when I was 15. It is a completely one-sided tale and it is altogether possible that some details have become “stretched” with time; except for what happened in Plymouth, the day the photo was taken— It was 1985 the year Coke changed their formula and [...]
He came broken. I thought I could heal him. He had walls. I thought I could climb them. He had no hope. I thought I could fill him. I broke from trying. Then I loved him. He was still broken. He still had walls. He was still hopeless. Then [...]
At some point on my life journey I forgot about joy. A couple of years ago I battled severe depression and thoughts of suicide. When I finally came out of that dark time I was changed. I’m seeing the world with new eyes. I realize how much angst I had been holding onto in life. [...]
Life sometimes is more than we can handle. There are times when we “can’t do this”. But it is in those “can’t do this” moments when we find the very source of our courage.
I recently returned from a book tour in northeastern Pennsylvania where my novel, The Common Hours, takes place. My arrival in Pennsylvania was timed with peak fall foliage, something which I had not seen since leaving the state in 2001. It was not only a visit to my past, it was a revisiting of the sights, sounds, [...]
I am often asked who “The Common Hours” is about and how much of it is my life. The story which unfolds in this novel is a story which has been forming in my mind for many years. It was shaped by observations and experiences in my life but was not written to represent anyone [...]
In 1980 I thought my blue Traxx shoes from Kmart were the coolest shoes I had ever worn. They looked somewhat similar to the popular Nike shoe with the big check mark on the side. Every year my parents bought me two pair of shoes for school; one pair of dress shoes for the classroom and one [...]
Recently I was able to visit McWay Falls in California, a rare "tidefall" which is only visible from a footpath at the edge of California Highway 1. This waterfall tumbles from steep cliffs onto a small beach washed by aqua-blue water. I couldn't help thinking as I looked at it, how wonderful it would be to [...]
Tina D. Stephens 