—YEAH, I NOTICED THAT

 

…“What more is there than someone who loves you and wants to really know you—besides doing the same yourself, for those you love?” Maggie May Ethridge

 

…It’s hard to quit when you’re ahead. A lot of times it’s also hard to quit when you aren’t.

 

…When you think you’re right all of the time, it means everybody else has to be wrong all of the time, so how does that make sense?

 

…I had a couple of things published in one of my favorite places, Eunoia Review:

https://eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/08/24/not-quite-finished/

 

https://eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/08/24/that-day-a-relapse/

 

 

---“Doctor, my right arm hurts when I do this. What should I do?”

---“Stop doing that.”

 

…On the train, I watched a young woman work on her makeup for four hours with the intensity of Seurat inventing Pointillism. It was actually kind of fascinating. I hope the person she was meeting appreciated all she’d done for them. 

 

…You can do it if you make it all up, and if no one ever calls you on it, but it’s still untrue.

 

…All I really want to know is—can I trust you?

 

…I might have been talking to you there.

 

…Every single time my son comes through the door, the first thing he does is whistle. Even after 10,000 times of him doing that, it’s still pretty precious each time he does it.

 

…I think my heart might be trying to tell me something I don’t want to hear.

 

--How many people in the entire world have ever said that word, “Splooge,” or even know what that means?

--I’m guessing none. I think you and I made it up.

--Exactly.

 

…Oh God, it felt so good to laugh and laugh this weekend, laughing until I cried.

 

…You’re probably a really good person, but please don’t tell me that I don’t have “a fucking clue” when you don’t even know a single thing about me. Maybe talk to me first before you say or write that. I think we could be friends if you’d just ask what I mean.

 

…That’s what happens when you take your eye off the ball.

 

…I live in the country. How does a little golf ball end up, smack dab, in the middle of my back yard? 

 

…Sometimes you need a back rub, sometimes you need to shake yourself.

 

…A lot of the things I save are meaningless to other people, but they mean something to me.

 

…It might not look like it, but I did a lot of work yesterday.

 

…“No time to grieve, no time to mourn.” Landman

 

--I’m confused.

--Okay, but why are you shocked by that bit of personal information?

 

…“To be called ‘woke’ in a world that sleeps through suffering is no insult—it is the Gospel. Woke means awakened by compassion. Guided by truth. Humbled by grace. Committed to justice—not just for some, but for all.” Pope Leo XIV 

 

…Oh, the sweet smell of success. Handle me with care.

 

…I saw a cop car 20 feet from me the other day and I thought—I’m right here, motherfucker.

 

…Sometimes it’s hard to remember that we’re all the same team, because it sure doesn’t feel that way anymore.

 

…“We’ll open eventually.” Eventually? Is that really your answer? Really?

 

…“Okay, leave that alone. Let it sit for a while before you fuck the whole thing up”—that’s something I never say to myself often enough.

 

…It’s not like I want to be sad. But I have eyes. I have ears. They still work.

 

--Should I be there?

--I think you should. You’ll feel guilty otherwise.

--I always feel guilty, whether I’m there or not.

 

…I know you didn’t mean it that way, but that was still a tad cruel and uncalled for.

 

…I think you forgot your gloves.

 

…Sometimes you just have to push Send, even when you think you shouldn’t.

 

…Something smart to tell yourself regularly is—Just let it go.

 

…I think the problem is I have six months’ worth of Friday posts just sitting here.

 

…You know something good’s happening to you when it’s new Discover Weekly and you don’t even care.

 

…All right, are we really going to do this, or not?

 

…The lyrics can read a lot differently without a soundtrack behind them.

 

…Sometimes you just have to push Restart, and that can be awfully scary.

 

…Do you ever get really frustrated when you can’t find the right word? No? I do all of the time.

 

…Try not to take it personally is really difficult to do, especially when you’re a person.

 

…“I have done nothing all summer but wait for myself to be myself again.” Georgia O’Keeffe

 

…The thing is you can’t be joking when you say that. You can’t be kidding at all.

 

…I think it’s very difficult not to use adjectives if you’re a writer, but that might just be me. 

 

…How you hear something changes everything.

 

…I may have said this before but, when you close your “Stand” ring by noon, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

 

…You remind me of just how little I deserve.

 

…Nothing’s perfect, so why should you ever expect it to be that way?

 

…Who watches the finale instead of episode 4, season 4? Oh yeah. 

 

…You could be the most articulate person who ever lived, but there’s still no way in fucking hell you’d convince me that the “guy” in the White House is anything other than the very definition of evil.

 

…It’s still early, so I’m not that bitter yet.

 

...Thank you for paying attention.

 

…I spend a lot of time staring at the lake. And I feel really lucky that I get to do that.

 

…Maybe I’m making too much of everything. Do you think I’m making too much of everything?

 

…I think there might be something wrong about this.

 

…I could write a song about that.

 

…Stevie Nicks, come on, you’re an idol and a legend, but give me a fucking break here with all of your incessant barking. 

 

…Can we stay frozen in time, caught between Hello and Goodbye?

 

…Is the word you’re looking for “apprehension”?

 

…I understand brainwashing, if you have no recourse to stop it. But I really, really, can’t comprehend how any human being with an actual brain could think any of this is okay or even close to normal. What the fucking Hell?

 

…I’m not making it up. These were the first three headlines that came up on Sunday after I typed “news” into my computer:

     --Three dead in horror NYC mass shooting

     --Gunfire erupts during altercation on Swift bus in Mill Creek

     --Police find two dead after Welfare Check in Lake Stevens home

 

…What I really don’t need right now is another reason not to believe in Jesus.

 

…“The world is big and beautiful and colorful and amazing—go see it.” Nancy Stohlman

 

…Do you know what that looks like? Enough. 

 

…When it’s getting really close to the end, that’s when it’s like—Fuck yeah. Let’s do it. Why would we not?

 

…That’s good enough.

 

…If I can make you happy, that makes me happy. So why don’t I do it more often?

 

…“My back may be ruined for the moment, but I'm still a pretty princess.” Jay Halsey

 

…I guess the question is always: How much energy are you willing to expend for that thing you want?

 

…Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it, truly, but at this point, the only one I’m talking to is myself.

 

…“I finally found the love / baby, I’m the one.” Kirsten Clodfelter 

  

…I’m hoping to be out of the wash before sundown. Wish me luck. 

  

…Take care of your heart. It’s really the only thing you’ve got.

 

…“I thought it might be fun to break my own heart today.” Stephanie Clark

 

…If nothing else…

 

…Whoa, Sparky.