On my desk, I keep a daily list of things to do. At the top of a half-sheet of 8.5 x 11-inch paper, I write TTD, which means "things to do". It's a half-sheet because I don't want to waste paper, and of course, the paper has been used on the other side, a result of 12 years of Catholic school training. The nuns would be proud. The list keeps me focused and helps me to remember some essential and some non-essential things I should accomplish. Once I complete a task, I strike t

The sun shone brightly with a heat markedly focused on the shore below. Bathers gathered near the edge of the dry sand and lathered...

Several years ago, I came across a quote from Uncle Frank Davis, a Pawnee Native American wise man. I quote him here: Life is like a...

Many people ask me why I write for children and not for adults. I used to say it was because I never grew up. But over the years, I've...

That is what writing is to me. I look at the world from inside my head, observe what's going on around me, near and far, and I write it...

Hair has always been my nemesis. No matter the style, mine failed to resemble the gal on the back cover of Seventeen . I wanted a...

Once I learned how to read and could understand plots and motivations in literature, I became interested in the study of the origin of...

This thought just entered my head: We are part of a giant puzzle. Every one of us is a piece, and each has a spot that we can fill if we...

I was ten. Music and song was always a part of our lives, from Daddy's limited repertoire, the few long-plays on the Victrola, radio and...

One of my favorite characters from my childhood is Chicken Little. For you Brits, it's Henny Penny. What a bird! If you are unfamiliar...

Hmm, how many freckles do I have? The one on my arm looks pretty good. Ooh, that ink blot on the carpet has turned green. Looks like this...

Well, today my feet have stopped talking to me, and I think this time FOREVER! Yesterday, I overheard the following conversation from my...

It's 5:30 p.m. - the sun hangs low in the sky. Breezes gently waft across the lawn. The dogs rest - one in the grass with forepaws...

Okay, so I'm not perfect! But perfection has always been part of my life. I like things neat and orderly, uncluttered. I like things to...

That little blinking line follows me everywhere I type. It won't let me rest! As soon as I get to the end of a sentence, there it is...

I CAN still remember Miss Claire Babin’s face way back when I was six and in the first grade. She was one of those important people in my...

I have always wondered if I had a mission. I realize now, literally after years, that collecting experiences is probably what I was...

I was born in the year of the dog so there is a connection. Perhaps that is why I see eye-to-eye with canines. We think alike. We're...

Writing to me is an expression of self, a call to communicate, to send a message out there, to throw a pebble in the pond and watch the...

My mom was a practical woman. When we moved to our new house in 1954, she insisted on a Maytag washer and dryer, which were gas. They...