I sat and watched again on TV last spring as a teen turned violent and shot and killed his peers. His teachers said he was “disconnected” from his community. I felt glad that couldn’t happen in our small (but growing) tight-knit community because everyone feels involved here, right? I mean, Southern Living loves us, so…
Every parent should home school — but hold on, before you yank Junior out of the 4th grade at Possum Valley Elementary, let me explain. After home schooling one of my sons for a few years and sending the other all the way through public schools, as well as teaching in a public system, I’ve come…
After years of fighting birds, bugs, heat and leaving town on vacation just when the figs were getting ripe — I hit the jackpot this year. Now, I’m so sick of picking figs, I finally gave up and told the birds to help themselves. “Do you make fig preserves?” everyone wants to know. The answer…
My dad’s been sick, and for the first time, on Father’s Day, I had to feed him. A spoonful of soup, a bite of chicken, then a sip or two of water. It was the worst Father’s Day I can ever remember. Of course, you can imagine I was heartbroken, but when two different friends…
Grace that is greater than all our sins There needs to be a word to describe the specific feeling you get when you are simultaneously furious with your child, yet still want to hug them till they melt in your arms. I thought of this when my husband told me, “All the boys in…
The Fairhope Writer’s Group met to celebrate our darling friend Jule Moon on the occasion of her 99th birthday. Jule (pronounced Julie, but far too cool to spell it the expected way), is the anchor of our group of writers and has a lifetime of stories to tell. Born in Atlanta and raised in Mobile,…
*I told AL.com Environmental Reporter, Ben Raines it was too bad the housewife/mom/Junior League columnist had this experience instead of him. He would have known exactly what this thing was. But now I know for sure my heart surgery was a success, since I didn’t fall over dead when I saw this beast! I actually…
Summer, Autumn, Winter (“Winnie”) and Spring are friends of my sons. Two are adorable, one is a tart, and the other will be a beauty someday — as soon as she grows into her teeth, bless her heart. With absolutely no connection to these young ladies whatsoever, and thinking only of the calendar, I have…
This story by Michelle Matthews appeared last week in the AL.com newspapers — and guess who was included? Yippee! What a nice surprise to be grouped with these amazing authors from Alabama! If you want to read the story at the AL.com site, click HERE. 15 Alabama books to take to the beach this summer…