When I was growing up, we never went to the coast. We lived in an urban area, about an hour from the nearest shore. Back then, I didn’t yearn for its peace because I didn’t need it. Our concrete-jungle neighborhood offered places to play and a loving community. Years later, after I started dating my ...

It’s the simple things, like the scent of a crayon, that take me back to what I used to know– the mourning dove’s echoing in my bedroom, the sun’s rays shining through my curtains as I wake to the scent of freshly cut grass. It’s the simple things, like the scent of a barbecue, that ...

I couldn’t keep my eyes from the windows in the classroom. I taught lessons, corrected papers, assigned homework, and answered questions. But I wasn’t there. My eyes, the windows to my soul, took my attention to the white flakes falling. No sunshine turned them into sequins like a magical fairy godmother. They fell from a ...