For a girl like the girl I was, a child of the deep South, born into a world of steel mills and tidy neighborhoods of bungalows on oak and maple and pecan tree-lined streets; for a child steeped in the heady Southern perfumes of feathery…
In love and lodging, the little things always seem to matter the most. I was reminded of this in early May, when I traveled to Whitefish, Montana for the centennial celebration of Glacier National Park. I was lucky enough to find a rare opening at…
The thing about going somewhere is that, if you’re lucky, you have someone to tell goodbye. Someone who is sad to see you go. It’s the same coming home. For the fortunate, there is someone there to welcome you. Someone who missed you and is…
Slipping into a parking spot across the street from the high school, I turned off the engine and waited for my daughter to come out the door. Enjoying the quiet of the car, a welcome respite from the noise of a busy day, lulled by…
Happy Mother's Day. Another column from the archives...June 5, 2006 Life’s tender moments dance into our hearts Cheryl-Anne Millsap Staff writer The dance starts before we are born. Babies wait in the dark, moving in time to the beat of a mother’s heart and with…
Another Mother's Day column from the past...May 5, 2008 Home Planet: At times, it’s alright to get it wrong Cheryl-Anne Millsap The Spokesman-Review I got my first taste of mother guilt just minutes after the birth of my first child.After I delivered her – an…
Another Mother's Day column from the past... May 13, 2006 Weighty concerns easily forgotten on Mother’s Day Cheryl-Anne Millsap The Spokesman-Review Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.It doesn’t matter if it’s your first Mother’s Day or your 21st; you’ve probably already learned one very important lesson: Mothering…
Taking the red-eye morning flight, I watched the watery April sun rise in the sky as I left the Inland northwest and flew across the country. My work took me east, but there was another, stronger, pull. I needed to see the mountains again. Not…
Looking back on columns about mothers... May 7, 2007 Motherhood really isn’t about smooth landings Cheryl-Anne Millsap Staff writer Imagine we are at a party (let’s make it a cocktail party because I’ve got a new dress and I’d like a chance to wear it…
I pulled up to the intersection and stopped. While I waited for the light to change I looked around me; briefly meeting the eyes of the woman in the car in front of me as she glanced up at her rearview mirror. I saw another…
This morning I watched the sun rise over the Great Smoky Mountains. The historic Grove Park Inn, at Asheville, North Carolina was already humming, preparing for the Obama visit. Four airports, 2,000 miles and 9 hours later I walked in my front door and am…
I was busy with other things. My mind was on early spring chores like clearing away the winter clutter of boots, shovels and mate-less mittens; sweeping last year’s bitter-end-of-autumn leaves and pine needles off the patio; tidying up the garden getting it ready to plant…
After taking the plunge into downsizing a big life into a little house, I love to read about anyone who has gone really small. It takes a lot of determination to resist the temptation to start living large again.Dee Williams, an Olympia, Washington woman, will…
No Sunday drive to Green Bluff is complete without a stop by Trezzi Farm. Walking into the one-of-a-kind barn-style home and kitchen, we were warmly welcomed, as always, and came away with a box full of delicious homemade lasagna, meatballs, pesto and polenta to stock…
I am a great admirer of the kitchen skills of my friends. So many seem to posess a magic that escapes me. In my kitchen, in my pots and pans, most recipes never turn out quite right. I get close, but, whether due to my…
When the signs are subtle but strong. When the wind shifts and the sun’s arc across the sky changes a bit. When the perfume in the air takes on another scent and something deep inside me responds to a silent signal, I take walk. Not…
Years ago, the week before Easter Sunday, I sat beside my sister’s hospital bed watching her fever rise and listening to her struggle to breathe. She was so sick, fighting for every breath, and I was powerless to help her in any way. The only…
It was one of those beautiful spring Saturday mornings that thrill you. When the sun is out, the air is suddenly warmer and there are tender green shoots peeking up in the flower beds. The kind of day you remember. The kind of day that…
Last week at the bookstore, I spent an hour moving slowly along the rows and bookshelves, my head tilted to one side, reading titles. After an hour or so of skimming titles and sampling chapters I had three books I couldn’t leave behind so I…
My middle daughter Becca swept into the house on Friday night. Like spring, she comes into any room with a lion's roar.After takeout from Gordy's, and spending some time visiting with us, she turned herself over to the little sister. They disappeared upstairs and we…
photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap Undressing, I slipped my hand into the pocket of my skirt and pulled out one single small flower. A forsythia bloom. A tiny yellow bell. I’d forgotten it was there. I have a habit of dropping things into my pocket, like…
Photo by Cheryl-Anne Millsap I am, and I have to believe it is true of most others, two people in one body. On one side, I am a contented hermit. I love nothing better than time at home surrounded by the rooms full of furniture…
I wish I knew why cold rainy days (look out the window!) make me crave a grilled cheese sandwich. I also wish I knew what childhood psycho/emotional conditioning makes me crave a mug of hot chocolate with my grilled cheese. This is a dangerous and…
Two years ago when my son took his first job on a restored 1949 oceanographic research vessel, I wrote the column below. He was to be the boat's new engineer. It was his first time at sea. And my first experience with sending a child…
So, I had this little thing I wanted to write. I tried all day to get it right, but the words played a game of chase and stayed just out of reach. Finally, out of patience, I walked away. "I don't care," I called over…
Cheryl-Anne Millsap's Home Planet column appears each week in the Wednesday "Pinch" supplement. Cheryl-Anne is a regular contributor to Spokane Public Radio and her essays can be heard on Public Radio stations across the country.
