31 January 2023 Dear Valerie, I woke up very early this morning. When I looked at the time, 5:00 a.m., I realized it was only half an hour until the exact time that you took your last breath one year ago. Starting on December 29, 2021, when together we heard…

Monday, 9 May 2022 Dear Valerie, I tried to write to you yesterday, on Mother’s Day, but I just couldn’t seem to connect any dots between my thoughts and emotions and the empty pages. It was as if the flood of remembrance was blocking the flow of words. So I’m…

Dear Valerie, Today is your birthday. Yesterday, I brought home your remains. On the morning of Monday, January 31, 2022, not long after you were declared dead, I had to send a couple of text messages, and to have to write the words, “Valerie died this morning” was almost physically…

Five hours after learning of my mother’s death, I wrote this: It’s Tuesday, 10 August 2021. My mother died today. My twin sister called me early this morning with this news, and I’m still not sure what, if anything, I should be feeling. I’m a bit weepy and sad, and…

Like many little girls growing up in Portland, Oregon, Karida Griffith wanted to be a dancer. She describes herself as a “classic studio kid”, progressing through the traditional curriculum of ballet, tap, modern, and jazz — and falling completely in love with tap dance. …

I’m far from the first to write about how much our lives have changed in a few very short, cataclysmic weeks, but it’s also true that each of us has a uniquely personal perspective on the current global situation caused by the novel coronavirus. …

Yes, I realize the irony. Read on. Every day, I receive notifications telling me that writers on Medium have just published more articles on the subject of writing. These tend to cover everything from basic writing mechanics to how to make thousands of dollars each month on Medium without even…

Today my daughter invited me, on about an hour’s notice, to join her at the Portland Japanese Garden; apparently this is the first time in its 50-year history that they’ve opened this magnificent garden on New Year’s Day! So, since it is one of my very favorite places in Portland…

Participating in NaNoWriMo* was, for me, a lot like trying to decide what to wear for a big holiday party — without the aid of an official dress code. Understand, I’m not usually at a loss to assemble an ensemble. Nor do I struggle to come up with writing ideas…