athesaurus.com

…breathe deeply and often…

  • Cassandra

    “I don’t think it’s right. I can’t get it lined up perfectly,” said Cassandra.  “Perfection isn’t what you’re after, it’s the mood, the tone. Melancholy doesn’t follow straight lines. You want the fluidity of a blue satin skirt,” said Serena. “Let one movement flow into the other, and don’t be rigid.” “I am not from…

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  • Stay the Course

    It only took a few seconds to find out that I was completely and utterly lost. That’s what careful planning and a world class GPS got me, lost. The drive through Texas was one road, one lane, one shot, no turns. As straight forward as you could get with or without tumbleweeds. You couldn’t get…

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  • 4H Camp Blues

    “I was only there for one week thirty-five years ago,” Max told George. “I’m sure Alice doesn’t feel the same way I feel toward her.” Max had met Alice when they were camp counselors at 4-H camp when they were seniors in college. They were collecting and stacking logs for the opening night bonfire when…

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  • Whisper

    “Boy, do I have a secret or what?” Margaret said to her reflection in the mirror. She gazed deeply into her own eyes.  Boom. The door on the bathroom echoed when the blond walked in whispering to her red headed friend. It sounded like they had secrets too. Margaret had no idea what they were…

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  • My Heart

    I offer my heart I’ll put my ass in a sling For people I love.

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  • No Regrets

    “I don’t want to hear you say ‘I regret’ getting that puppy in two weeks when school starts,” said Buddy to his mom. She’d be the one taking care of it, feeding, watering, cleaning up its shit. She was very particular about her stuff and didn’t want a damned dog eating her furniture. Some of…

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  • Party for One

    Image generated with AI. Betwixt the tantalizing mushrooms and truffles, I teleported through the chocolates. That was the only way to get through them unscathed. I would eat my weight in  chocolate without a muzzle. Against chocolate, especially the 83% cacao, I had no defense. It tantalized me from the other room, I could hear…

    Read more

  • Garden Luncheon

    Margaret took off her gardening gloves and surveyed her garden. The flowers were perfect. Never had her blooms been bigger or brighter than they were this summer. She took out her phone to take a picture. The blues, oranges, and reds were just phenomenal. She picked a blue one and took it into the house…

    Read more

  • Barefoot Drama

    Image generated with AI. May first is Legal Barefoot Day. The day that my sister and brother and I were allowed to go outside without shoes and not get in trouble for it. Grass stains and bee stings were the worst that could happen to us. Mom would scrub our feet raw every night in…

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  • Artist unknown. “Everything on this menu must have at least ten thousand calories,” Miranda said as she picked up her Chardonnay. Janet thought by the looks of her, she could use ten thousand calories. She could get a salad or a steak anywhere. But they were in an exquisite Indian restaurant that served the best…

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  • Crop Circles

    The aliens are here. How do you know? I saw the crop circles. Don’t be stupid. There are no such thing as crop circles. Yes there are. It’s where their mothership lands and makes a funky pattern on the ground. See? No. Jeb went out last night with his tractor and did that so the… Read more

  • Ask, I Dare you

    Iwish thatI had patience but I know better than to ask for itto help me get just that.Patience has to come from trials and not something that is freely given.It is earned, learned, made, muddled, and messed up.Never ask God for patience. He’ll test you instead. Read more

  • Inertia

    Whatever you practice you get better at. You have to run four miles a day to run four  miles a day. If you want to make puff pastry, you have to make puff pastry. It’s not something you just get up one morning and do. It takes time and error. It’s simple, but complicated.   You… Read more

  • Water Wings

    Water Wings “Let go,” he said. He trusted his water wings as much as he trusted me in the deep end under the lifeguard stand. I wasn’t sure I heard him right. There was so much noise around us. Splashing, water falling, kids screaming. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear him right. He was… Read more

  • I’m Fine

    “How are you?” she asked. That’s always a loaded question. Who asks it gets a different version of the truth of it. The answer is most usually the first lie of the day. “Fine.” I’m scared. I’m worried for my life. I am worried for my son’s life. He’s working on his master’s in grad… Read more

  • The Mighty Oak

    The Mighty Oak Although it is true that it looked easy, swinging off a rope ain’t what it’s cracked up to be. It takes more engineering and logic than some people have to make it work right.   When the dirt road was eye level to the best swinging branch of the giant oak tree, Alan… Read more

  • Cassandra

    “I don’t think it’s right. I can’t get it lined up perfectly,” said Cassandra.  “Perfection isn’t what you’re after, it’s the mood, the tone. Melancholy doesn’t follow straight lines. You want the fluidity of a blue satin skirt,” said Serena. “Let one movement flow into the other, and don’t be rigid.” “I am not from…

    Read more

  • Stay the Course

    It only took a few seconds to find out that I was completely and utterly lost. That’s what careful planning and a world class GPS got me, lost. The drive through Texas was one road, one lane, one shot, no turns. As straight forward as you could get with or without tumbleweeds. You couldn’t get…

    Read more

  • 4H Camp Blues

    “I was only there for one week thirty-five years ago,” Max told George. “I’m sure Alice doesn’t feel the same way I feel toward her.” Max had met Alice when they were camp counselors at 4-H camp when they were seniors in college. They were collecting and stacking logs for the opening night bonfire when…

    Read more

  • Whisper

    “Boy, do I have a secret or what?” Margaret said to her reflection in the mirror. She gazed deeply into her own eyes.  Boom. The door on the bathroom echoed when the blond walked in whispering to her red headed friend. It sounded like they had secrets too. Margaret had no idea what they were…

    Read more

  • My Heart

    I offer my heart I’ll put my ass in a sling For people I love.

    Read more

  • No Regrets

    “I don’t want to hear you say ‘I regret’ getting that puppy in two weeks when school starts,” said Buddy to his mom. She’d be the one taking care of it, feeding, watering, cleaning up its shit. She was very particular about her stuff and didn’t want a damned dog eating her furniture. Some of…

    Read more

  • Party for One

    Image generated with AI. Betwixt the tantalizing mushrooms and truffles, I teleported through the chocolates. That was the only way to get through them unscathed. I would eat my weight in  chocolate without a muzzle. Against chocolate, especially the 83% cacao, I had no defense. It tantalized me from the other room, I could hear…

    Read more

  • Garden Luncheon

    Margaret took off her gardening gloves and surveyed her garden. The flowers were perfect. Never had her blooms been bigger or brighter than they were this summer. She took out her phone to take a picture. The blues, oranges, and reds were just phenomenal. She picked a blue one and took it into the house…

    Read more

  • Barefoot Drama

    Image generated with AI. May first is Legal Barefoot Day. The day that my sister and brother and I were allowed to go outside without shoes and not get in trouble for it. Grass stains and bee stings were the worst that could happen to us. Mom would scrub our feet raw every night in…

    Read more

  • Artist unknown. “Everything on this menu must have at least ten thousand calories,” Miranda said as she picked up her Chardonnay. Janet thought by the looks of her, she could use ten thousand calories. She could get a salad or a steak anywhere. But they were in an exquisite Indian restaurant that served the best…

    Read more


  • Jolly Ranchers

  • Holding Hands

    Alan came to my house to pick me up and we went somewhere. The first time I held Alan’s hand I was scared, bubbly, and giddy all at once. He held my hand to the car. That’s all I remember about the date – he reached out his hand for mine and I remember reaching…

  • Daphne Drumke 

    Daphne Drumke waited for her suitcase to pop out of the baggage terminal at Terminal three in Heathrow. There were everything but chickens in terminal three. A goat herd just passed. Daphne watched an armed guard roll his eyes at a well dressed woman in stilettos  leading a St. Bernard and twin boys, all on…

  • The High Priestess

    Lorraine was known for her arbitrary obsessions. One week it was crystals, spirits, and witchcraft, the next it was chocolate fudge. Whatever her random fixation, she did it with passion and all consuming gumption to the woe of her husband Cyril. He had learned over the years to stay quiet and sweep up the shards…

  • Windjammer

    The Windjammer hit the wave head on and leaped into the blue sky like a whale breaching the surface of the sea. Another wave pushed its bow down into the drink. Without his steering prowess, the sailboat surely would have capsized. The six year old opened his eyes, paused his imagination’s scenario, and scratched his…