You commit and sit. And wait.

After awhile, all the thoughts that you have been storing up as if you were a squirrel on uppers, leap up like skinny sophomores who are only on the team so that the bench is full.

Continue reading The Skinny On Writing ~ Monday May 22, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

... there are two kinds of mothers – the one you are born to and the ones who choose you, or visa versa.

Continue reading Mother’s Day ~ May 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

I was not raised to be hopeful. I was raised to be Catholic. Life as a Catholic kid was a minefield of what was wrong and what was right, not because of any moral issue but because one path was loaded with sins that would get God pissed off, and the other path was leading to Heaven and God’s love. You pick...

Continue reading To Hell And Back ~ May 8, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Let’s imagine you were standing looking at a garden full of artichokes. Would your first thought be, “Wow that looks delicious!” or would it be, “This is the perfect weapon for clobbering the guy down the road."

Continue reading World Peace And The Artichoke ~ May 1, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

We had no idea how important we were to one another or that the memories of four-part harmonies, spring evenings and the peepers would stay with us for decades. We had no idea or vision of the future, and the thought of being 70 or so and looking back was not on our agenda. Being there, leaning against one car or another, no one smoking or drinking, sharing gossip and the tiny markers in our lives that seemed enormous, with the peepers as our background music, that was a place we felt safe and hopeful. You bet we dawdled.

Continue reading The Season Of The Peepers ~ April 24, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

It is the end of the line. I will be leaving my day job on June 15th this year. As much as the thrill of letting go of all of that appeals to me – I am sitting in a big pile of panic. I had not expected this.

Continue reading End Of The Line ~ April 17, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

What if Donald Trump threw a party and no one came?

Continue reading Decline The Invitation ~ April 10, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

My Father was born on April Fools Day. Our relationship was rocky. Dad wanted things his way because he was the father. I know this because he told me. I wanted things my way because I was the daughter. He knew that because I told him. We drew our lines in the sand, and we waited for the other to blink. For me it was very simple. My father was usually wrong, and I was right.

Continue reading My Father Was An April Fool ~ Monday April 3, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

She started singing in 1931 and has never stopped in spite of being sidelined more than once. Marilyn Maye has lived through more crap than most of us will ever see. Talk about opportunities for having the blues. And yet she chooses the crow’s nest as her permanent home.

Continue reading Marilyn Maye Dispatches My Case Of The “What-Does-It-Matter-Blues” at Musings by Tulis.

She started singing in 1931 and has never stopped in spite of being sidelined more than once. Marilyn Maye has lived through more crap than most of us will ever see. Talk about opportunities for having the blues. And yet she chooses the crow’s nest as her permanent home.

Continue reading Marilyn Maye Dispatches My Case Of The “What-Does-It-Matter-Blues” ~ March 27, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.