One butch lesbian living beyond the gender binary. When gender does not compute. At the end of one of the tables, a woman with a laptop is trying to piece together the family tree. This year, W and I are legally married. This year, my name can go on the tree. W leaves me to sit with the lady with the laptop and give her my information. She is gone a long time.

Observations about life, people and relationships from the card department. In the card department the other day, a woman came up to me asking for the 99 cent designs. I need to send lots of cards to my grandchildren, she said, because they love getting mail. Do you have a box full of greeting cards, too? Back to those grandchildren.

On Writing, Creating, and Being Mindful. When the Muse Finds You. When the Muse finds you, she hits hard. Not with the words, but with the emotions evoked by the story that must be told. Images swirl through your mind. The mist dissipates and a world is revealed. This is where you live. This is your home now. The all-consuming need to write seeps into your pores.

No matter what I tried to tell my body to do this week, it refused. I cancelled my yoga classes and was held hostage in the reclining chair for 7 days. But wait, hold on! .