My Daddy grew out of the earth. He was stocky with short legs and a long torso. Mommy complained that all of his pants had to be hemmed. But, his strong legs held him steady when he walked behind a mule steering a plough. Not to be outdone, his arms were also muscular. He could…
Author: kmreeder
The Easter Tree: An Update on My Mother
The kindness. The kindness. So many people have asked me to provide an update on my mother after reading It Never Rained on my Parade. She seems to have adjusted well during the first week. In fact, she seems uncharacteristically docile; the staff at the facility calls her “sweet.” Likely it is the progression of…
Bio
I am the smallest red hen hoping to outrun the mistress of the house. I am a forgotten sachet, crumbling lavender at the bottom of a lingerie drawer. I am a hollow tree. Is there a yellow jacket nest inside or only a quiet place to rest? And, like a patient tiger, I am becoming.…
This Road
Nothing can match the newness of this road. It gleams with a hazy sheen and stinks of tar. I expect to hear workmen opening their lunch pails nearby. What will happen once they are gone? Will I be able to find my words? I only have two hands And one over-burdened, broken heart. Like…
It Never Rained on My Parade
Yesterday, my heart, crisscrossed with scars from prior hurts, broke again. My brother, his wife and I moved our mother into the memory-care unit of a long-term nursing care facility. We like that term more than “nursing home.” Tears rolled down our faces during the intake process. I soothed myself by making sure my mother…
Further Defining Redemption
In thinking more about the theme of “Redemption and University of Kentucky Basketball, it occurred to me that, in that essay, I had been thinking of the meaning of the word “redemption” as something akin to rescue. That is, I tried to describe the hope that many Kentuckians feel when they watch University of Kentucky…
On Being Husbandless and Rudy the Rat Guy
I consider myself a resourceful person. A doer. Someone who can “tote the freight” as my Daddy would have said. However, my strength, confidence, cleverness and energy have been stretched to their limits in the wake of my divorce. Throughout, I have learned humility. I have learned to ask others for help. Most of all,…
Perchance to sleep?
I have always been a bad sleeper. The family story is that my mother had to sleep with me until I was six-years-old because I was afraid of the dark. I feel almost certain that I was the only ten-year-old in 1979 using my construction-worker father’s earplugs to help me sleep. Those who have struggled…
“Less Than”
Wow. I am a little overwhelmed by the response to my last post. I have been thinking about that piece for a long time. It makes me happy that it struck a chord with so many people. It originated in a part of me that was always torn about my Kentucky roots. On the one…
Redemption and University of Kentucky Basketball
Not everyone understands University of Kentucky basketball. More accurately, some people despise the team. It’s the fans that draw most of the ire. In an article published the week before the NCAA 2014 Final Four, Mac Engel of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram called UK fans “the single most obnoxious, self-congratulatory, priority-skewed fan base in a…
