*warning: necessary vulgar language* Good and bad. Success and failure. Celebration and heartbreak. In all things I crave a reason, a purpose, or at minimum, a lesson learned. I’ve come to accept this self-imposed mantra in my life. The once popular, albeit, crass refrain that “Shit Happens” never resonated with me, no matter how many cars sported the bumper…
Author: Kelly Yarbro Griffith
Kelly Yarbro Griffith
Born in Iowa. Raised and live in Texas.
Lessons Learned from Behind My Mask
I silently burp more times than I ever realized. Glasses fog. My smart phone does not recognize me, and I don’t remember my passcode. My dogs don’t recognize me, and there is no passcode. You cannot drink or eat while wearing a mask – an unanticipated diet aid. Makeup is no longer a necessity. My mask,…
Ruthie Tushy
My pup, Ruthie, cannot play poker. Not for the obvious reason, her lack of opposable thumbs, but because she cannot maintain a poker face or in Ruthie’s case, a poker tushy. Ruthie came to us from an animal rescue group. We are her third and final home. From the cowering behavior it was obvious she had endured abuse. Forty…
Spilling Wine
Have you ever flipped an uncorked-full-bottle of wine upside down? Well, yes, I have. It is a long and not-so-proud story from my younger years. When the bottle is inverted, the wine is slow to come out. It hesitates. It gurgles. It chugs. The bottle is full; the wine wants to pour out with the sophistication deserving of fine aged and…
Mountaintop Selfie
I’m always the person behind the camera, by choice, the one snapping shots. Just ask my son who hates having his picture taken, much to the chagrin of his mother. Over a five-year span, preteen and into the teen era, every photograph discloses a perturbed expression that must have mirrored that of the exasperated photographer. Out of love…
SIN
I enjoy luxurious naps. Unfortunately, this is an activity (activity?) I don’t enjoy frequently enough. The opportunity needs to be “just right” paired with mental, and environmental quality controls. Sure, I nap at other times, but they are not quality, professional naps. They are routine, amateur naps. The “Rainy Day Watching Uninspiring Chick-Flicks in Bed” nap. The “Dog-is-on-My–Lap” nap where I…
Will You Eat the Life Saver?
In the novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson, starving little Henry presented his prized piece of candy to the traveling packhorse librarian that visited his Kentucky mountain school. Knowing the sacrifice and preciousness of his gift, Book Woman placed the single, wrapped Life Saver in her treasure box and stored it under her…
Pig Slayer
I killed a pig. More accurately, I killed a wild pig. It was dusk and raining. I was driving 75 miles an hour heading to a late evening meeting when a herd of wild pigs ran onto the highway. Automobiles in front of me swerved, some sliding off the road, some colliding into other cars, and…
Pregnant Woman with the Run-Away Dog
Thank you Pregnant Woman with the Run-Away Dog; you brought joy through memories. Hearing early morning wailing with intermittent yelling, I peeked out my window to see a car stopped in the middle of the road. Unoccupied. Motor running. All four doors opened. Nearby was an overly pregnant woman crying and calling a wandering dog…
She Spread Her Wings
I’ve been stressed lately. Maybe stressed is not an adequate enough word; I’ve felt overwhelmed, exhausted, sleep deprived and frazzled. It is not all from negative situations; most of it is from not knowing my own limits, and from saying yes when I should have said no. And now here I am having problems catching my breath. This is…
