Note: In an earlier version of this column that ran for a day, the timing of the author’s mother’s death was misstated. She died in 2022, not 2021. A weekend this month packed a particularly powerful punch. My husband, Randy, and I were married on June 7, 1974. So you…
We're Not in Kansas Anymore - a Column by Helen Baldwin
It’s almost a wrap for this year’s May madness. Whew. For me, the month commences with the birthday of a favorite former student and ends with that of a good friend, as well as my nephew’s wedding anniversary. In between are Mother’s Day, spring sports, end-of-school chaos,…
Today is my birthday, and it’s a big one. In fact, earlier this year, my heart palpitated a bit when it sank in just how big it is. By now, however, it seems minimally eventful. Sunday, of course, was Mother’s Day. I heard that morning from our daughter, Katie, and…
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” I don’t know if this adage has retained its clout from my early school days, but surely it’s still familiar. It came in handy — sorta — when I was in elementary school. During a routine game…
The other night, I asked my husband, Randy, if he’d like to watch a movie. Although I was in the mood for some Denzel Washington action, another of his flicks caught my eye. I wasn’t familiar with “The Little Things,” from 2021, but it had a stellar cast…
Respiratory ailments never bothered my husband, Randy, or me in Fort Worth, Texas, where we grew up. Columbia, South Carolina, our destination in 1985, was wretchedly muggy but didn’t prompt any allergy issues, either. In the early 1990s, we moved to Lenoir, North Carolina, where furniture factories thrived. That would’ve…
It seems like yesterday that our family was eagerly anticipating the addition of our third baby. On May 18, 1997, the wait ended with the arrival of our sweet Jeffrey! Eight weeks later, though, a diagnosis of the deadliest form of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) crushed our dreams…
This time 27 years ago, I was entering the third trimester of an unplanned pregnancy. My husband, Randy, and I had considered our family complete with two terrific children, Matthew and Katie. God, however, placed a cherry on top of our “fab four” with a big surprise: Jeffrey. Once we…
Although I rarely have a chance to read the work of fellow columnists here at Bionews, the parent company of this website, it’s evident that I’m in the midst of some stellar writers. Halsey Blocher, who is the columns lead for my group of writers, and Kevin…
My husband, Randy, and I sat across from the pediatric neurologist, eagerly anticipating his opinion of what was affecting our 8-week-old baby, Jeffrey. I say eagerly because I’m an optimist, and I’d taught kindergarteners at a self-contained school for children with multiple disabling conditions. I felt confident that we’d…
