“Ma’am this is (I don’t remember) with the Winchester Police Department. Where is your son supposed to be?”
I answered, “He’s walking home from Walmart.”
The officer took a breath and said, “Ma’am, there’s been an incident and, if this is your son, I’m sorry to have to inform you, but he’s deceased.”
Category: About Hallee
A Time of Lamentation
From the Mom of a Former Florida Public School Student
Almost 20 years ago, when our daughter Kaylee was in the first grade in a Florida public school, all of the classes in her school had a weekly class (mandated by the county) with the guidance counselor to discuss character traits. Every month focused on a different aspect of character. One month, the aspect was “respect.”
In the Wake of a Nightmare
I’ve never been one to remember my dreams. Most of the time, I don’t even realize I have dreamed. But the other night, I dreamed that one of my children died and it was so realistic and vivid that I was awake for about five minutes, still in this unbelievably deep state of mourning and …
You Aren’t An Impostor
Impostor syndrome is the name given to the feelings when a person doubts his or her accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. No matter how much evidence there is to the contrary, people with imposter syndrome still can be filled with incredible self-doubt.
An Open Letter to the Waitress at Steak ‘n Shake
Dear Waitress at the Frankfort (Kentucky) Steak ‘n Shake Who Served Us Saturday Night: As a waitress in a 24-hour sit-down fast-food restaurant, I’m sure that you get a lot of odd requests — especially from harried parents dealing with children in a visually stimulating (black and white checkered decor), cold, audibly loud environment. But, …
Pinkalicious, Head Injuries, Romance Writers & Teen Drivers
This week has gone by SO FAST. I cannot believe that a week ago, I was preparing breakfast for the crew who came to my daughter Kaylee’s Sweet 16 party.
Best Laid Plans…
I talked a little bit about Scott in Seeing the Negative Space, and explained that we did not want to put Scott through testing and assessments just to get a “label” to slap on him. But, it appeared that despite what we didn’t want, if we wanted him to get an education at this school, as we felt led to do, we had to do just that.
Hours a Day
Starting this week, I will have six hours a day, three days a week that will be focused solely on book writing. The other two days of the work week will be spent blogging on my two blogs. That is giving me 18 hours a week to write – eight more hours a week – of alone writing time. I haven’t spent more than an hour or two alone for years. I am so excited to see what kind of productivity I can accomplish in this designated writing time.
Time to Write
Summer is officially over in our house this week. My daughter begins her first day of 10th grade on Thursday. The following Wednesday, my boys will enter 4K and Kindergarten. I have to say, I’m looking forward to school starting. I had hoped I’d be able to finish my current work in progress this summer, …
My Office
I think all of my years in corporate America has my mind conditioned to where I’m more productive and where I’m not. I’ve tried writing at the dining room table, and I’ve tried sitting on my couch and working, but I have always worked best at my desk. That’s one of the reasons that makes it hard to work when it’s just me and the boys. My office is removed from the rooms where they’re more likely to play, and I’m not very comfortable with that.