Sometimes you just have to get the hell out of Dodge. It had been quite a week. I alternated between being horrified by the George Floyd killing, appalled at the riots, and concerned over friends’ experiences with COVID. More inconsequentially, my little laptop consistently freaked out over the number of spreadsheets I needed open at… Continue reading Nowhere, Indiana
Author: Melissa Norton Carro
A native southerner, Melissa Norton Carro has over twenty years of experience in marketing and communications, including her own business, Norton Carro Communications. She has edited textbooks and been a non-fiction ghostwriter, as well as a regular copyeditor for Gannett Publishing. She received her Bachelor of Arts, with Honors, from Vanderbilt University, where she currently works as an Assistant Dean. Carro was a closet fiction writer for years while raising three daughters, and Mt. Moriah’s Wake is her first novel. She writes a weekly blog, In the Middle, about life in the sandwich generation and is currently working on another novel. She lives in Nashville with her husband and blue heeler mutt.
Charles and Betty
Recently we had dinner with good friends. Sitting around their fire pit, we amazed at how quickly our 20s had segued into our 50s. One of our children is married and one of theirs is getting married in a month. When did they grow out of diapers, soccer matches and math tests? When faced with… Continue reading Charles and Betty
The Post-It Crisis
I have always prided myself in being hyper-organized. I make lists—sometimes of tasks I’ve already completed, just for the joy of crossing them off. But as I’ve been working at home for the last 8 weeks, I’ve found my brain rattled, distracted. A thought will jump into my head and I’ll travel with it down… Continue reading The Post-It Crisis
Following the Dot
Of all the inventions in this century, there is one that has single handedly transformed motherhood. No, not the diaper genie or the high chair cover, great as those are. I argue that the greatest invention is a catalyst for maternal sleep around the world: the “Find your Friends” app. I am not a helicopter… Continue reading Following the Dot
Silver Tea Sets
Once upon a time. The way all great stories start. The year was 1952 and finally the bitter winter in Landsberg, Germany had surrendered to summer, although for the girl from Tennessee it was not like any summer she had ever experienced. If she were home, she’d be pulling frozen coca-colas out of the icebox… Continue reading Silver Tea Sets
Becoming a Foster
It was one of those weeks. I feel like my most significant accomplishment was reminding myself of the difference in accent aigu and accent grave. My high school French teacher would be proud. Guess I’m ready to head to Paris—oh, wait, I can’t go anywhere. I’ve been trying to find little projects to break the… Continue reading Becoming a Foster
Sweet Spots
All week long, I looked forward to Friday—not only because working at home is frustrating and isolating, but because I had earmarked that day for my annual voyage to buy plants. Shopping for annuals was a yearly rite of passage for Mom and me. Each year, she was steadfastly predictable in her purchases. She had… Continue reading Sweet Spots
Dollar Tree Resurrection
Each year during Holy Week, I think of a woman named Pam. Yes, I also think of crosses, deviled eggs, peace lilies, and chocolate bunnies. I look forward to magnificent sanctuary services and family dinners. But mostly, since 2004, I think of Pam. It was that year that she redefined Easter for me. Our daughters… Continue reading Dollar Tree Resurrection
The Elusive Forsythia
We are about to start our fourth week of staying home. I feel as if the first two weeks of this whole mess were spent in self-denial and then scurrying around looking for toilet paper and essentials. This past week, I settled in for the long haul and decided I needed a project, and that… Continue reading The Elusive Forsythia
In a Patch of Sunlight
The gorgeous Green Hills library, rebuilt in 2000, was a weekly destination for Mom and me. During this period of home isolation, I have had a lot (too much?) of time to ponder, and I’ve been thinking about my mom a great deal—on two fronts. First of all, my mother, a self-acclaimed germ-a-phobe, would be… Continue reading In a Patch of Sunlight
IN THE MIDDLE 