From the Caregiver's HAErt — Danita LaShelle Jones

I was flat-out sick. While I watched my peers wander around the large waiting area, laughing, high-fiving, and waiting patiently for their turn, I was curled up in the corner in my choir dress with a splitting headache and chills. It was the final solo and ensemble competition of the…

Her snaps in 4/4 time seemed to echo throughout the room. Soon, I joined in, rocking from side to side. My mother’s rhythm was contagious, and soon, I was in a full-blown dance. “That’s it,” she said as she continued to snap. “Now say, ‘S-C-I … E-N … C-E!'” Without…

My counter looked as if I were starring in a cooking show on the Food Network. I’d separated my ingredients into bowls, the oil was slowly heating to a perfect temperature, and my homemade sauce was simmering. Because food prep and cooking are my favorite activities to relax, I was…

Before Blu-ray players in car consoles, satellite radios, or small screens synced to wireless headphones, families found ways to entertain themselves when faced with long road trips. Growing up, our family of four didn’t go on many road trips, but when we did, my parents picked some doozies. Eighteen hours…

“We know that once the baby gets here, we’ll be able to establish a schedule, and we will be more organized and finally be able to get some rest,” the woman on the television said. I laughed so hard that I thought my water was going to break. After going…

I finally did it. After putting it off for several years, I finally decided to have my abdominal hernias repaired. I did everything to prepare for the surgery. I talked with the doctors about the procedure, watched YouTube videos, and talked extensively with my sister, a physician, about my recovery.

Each breath she attempted to take was mixed with a desperate cough that sounded like gravel under a construction boot. Instinctively, I tried to get closer to help, as did others who were witnessing the medical emergency, but her friend who had knelt on the floor with her ordered us…

“So there was an incident,” she said when I entered the play area where my son was waiting. When I was hired as a high school teacher six weeks after my oldest son was born, we were blessed to find a fantastic woman to care for him during the day.

The Tyrannosaurus rex had already done a number on the all-terrain truck. And while the movie’s hero, Dr. Grant, had saved one child from the wreckage, Tim, a frightened young boy, was still stuck in the overturned vehicle. Suddenly, the T. rex pushes the SUV over an enclosure, and after…

“He feels betrayed,” I said to my student as she sat in her chair. “So there are different emotions your character has to have once she realizes he’s poisoned her.” My actress nodded in agreement and repositioned herself to start the scene over. It was Shakespeare Tuesday in the theater…

My aunt laughed as she set the beverage down on the coffee table. “Go ahead,” she coaxed, “try it!” I stared at the clear plastic cup in front of me. The liquid looked like my favorite soda (or pop, depending on what region of the U.S. you’re from), but according…

The familiar ding of the message notification pulled me out of my deep concentration. Between article deadlines, productions meetings, and numerous writing consultations, I was used to pausing to answer messages from clients, actors, and editors. So I lazily picked up my phone and opened the messaging app, only to…