Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
This Place
There are some places on earth you just cannot forget. Their majesty and beauty make such an impression that they are permanently etched on your mind. Parcels of land filled by magnificent mountains or drenched with sun laden beaches... just the words alone conjure up spectacular images—the Sierra's, Pikes Peak, and Kilimanjaro, or Fiji, the Caribbean, and the Florida Keys. Those places bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart. Those are the places you search for; the places you plan long vacations around. Those are the pictures you remember, forever.
By Cheryl Mason Thompson5 years ago in Families
A Quiet Minute
She’s staring out the window and telling me about her day. I’m glad that she can’t see my face, glad that she doesn’t know how much my back hurts standing here, glad that she doesn’t see that I’m sad that she has to tell me what she did today even though we’ve not been more than a few metres apart all day, glad that she doesn’t know it’s taking so long because of the pain in my hands. All she knows is this quiet minute, searching for dinosaurs in the overgrown backyard, just her and her mumma, putting her beautiful red hair into plaits before bed.
By Billie Argyle5 years ago in Families
Black Pearl
I was born in the backwoods of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My family was poor but never without the basics. Daddy worked underground and loved us dearly. He would get up before day break and work in the fields and then he would put on his old mining hat and his worn out coveralls and go to the mines. He would walk through our small town and go to the drift mouth and start his day. My Mommy would already have her day planned. She had already cooked for eight of us and started the washing. Before the light of day she sat at the kitchen table and read her Bible and said her prayers for all of us. She would mention each one of us by name and ask for a blessing for each of us. I know it was hard for her but she did this every day that I can remember.
By Linda N Steve Brown5 years ago in Families
Farming and Family
There's a feeling of coming home as I drive into the farmyard, whether it's the family farmyard where my grandparents lived, or the farmyard I grew up running around. There's a sense of purity and freedom that comes with rural life. Knowing that your work with the soil, or your care for the livestock, produces the food that the world needs to survive helps you gain perspective on the bigger picture of life.
By Valerie Jean5 years ago in Families
The Truth Bound in Leather
As Erin left the courthouse and walked to her car, a tempest of various emotions began to overwhelm her. It was finally over. It was the end of an era, a new beginning that was both relieving and a little scary all at once. At the same time it was heartbreaking. How could a marriage that had started so beautifully and in such a perfect way, end with such bitterness and feelings of betrayal?
By Vince Coliam5 years ago in Families
Something Could Happen
The end of my 10-year marriage was recently finalized after the mandatory Colorado 91-day “waiting period,” and I was in the middle of an existential moment. What’s defined me for the past decade-plus is, legally speaking, gone. Being a stepfather and never adopting my now ex-wife’s kids means that I’m….no one. That’s an oversimplification, I know. They still see me as Dad, but I can’t make any decisions about them or, if an emergency befalls them, seek treatment for them without their mother’s consent. And in her eyes, I’m now a roommate who helps her take care of her kids. So, it’s a fair statement to say that a large part of me has been feeling empty.
By David Marquiss5 years ago in Families
The Molly Maguires Club
Randi was frantic. Panicked. Every textbook. Every notebook. Her gym bag. Her pencil case. Every last thing from her locker spilled out onto the gray tile of the floor. She sank to her knees. Held her head in her hands and tried to steady her breathing that was coming hard and irregular. Her face reddened and beads of sweat quivered on her upper lip.
By Haze Medley5 years ago in Families
The Cabin
She laid in the tiny wood-framed bed, pulling the blankets up close underneath her neck. It was too cold to wake up and she dreaded the thought of her feet hitting the freezing floor. She knew she should get up, put on some tea, start the fire, and prepare for the pain that today would inevitably bring. But the thought of going through her father’s personal belongings brought tears to her eyes. Tears she was afraid would not stop flowing if she permitted them to start. Tears that would inevitably freeze to her cheeks.
By Amy Koller5 years ago in Families
The Bargain
It was back. The small, black book which I thought I’d trashed in the dumpster after my father had sent it for my eighteenth birthday, now sat, seemingly untouched and unblemished on my nightstand. I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake the cobwebs of sleep from my muddled mind, before sitting up to take a proper look.
By Trisha Srigiriraju5 years ago in Families
Little black book
As the taxi pulled up to the house I was flooded with memories. This was only the 2nd time I had been here and yet it was connected to so much of my life. My past and now my future. The last time I was here was before I was married. My fiancé had brought me here for dinner and to meet his mother. Dinner was quiet, almost void of emotion. David had done most of the talking and it was about him more than anyone else. I was nervous and proud of him and so was glad he had taken control as it made it easier on me. I thought he had done so to be kind to me. After the meal I helped take dishes into the kitchen. We were alone and she said to me “don’t marry him. No one deserves that kind of cruelty” just then David came into the kitchen saying we had to leave and I wasn’t able to say anything to her. I thought all the way home ‘why would she stay such a thing? She doesn't even know me and nothing was said at dinner to make her think I was a horrible person’ Did David say something before about me to make her think I was so horrible for him?’ I asked him why his mother didn’t like me and he said, “oh I am sorry she gave you that impression. She has always been a difficult person. I don’t think she likes anyone. She doesn’t even have any close friends that I know of. She seems to push everyone away.” She came to the wedding but only for the service and didn’t stay for the reception. she never smiled once that I can remember and even the few pictures taken of her she wasn’t smiling. So I didn’t mind that my husband let me stay home when he went to visit her or deal with things for her.
By Gina Solomon5 years ago in Families
