From the Caregiver's HAErt — Danita LaShelle Jones

It was one of the most beautiful and respectful corrections I’d ever seen as a child. The details are fuzzy because it happened over 35 years ago, and I don’t remember the circumstances of the moment. What I do remember is that an older woman, somewhat familiar with my family,…

With over 35 years of experience in the performing arts, I’m often the go-to expert for theatrical presentations by corporate or nonprofit organizations. Sometimes I’m asked to write or direct major shows. Other times, however, I’m asked to conduct a script assessment. This particular request arises when a program is…

As a child of the 1980s, I can’t help but remember the “bumbling dad” trope that seemed to dominate the entertainment industry. There were movies like “Mr. Mom” and “Three Men and a Baby,” television shows like “My Two Dads,” “The Hogan Family,” and “Full House,” and a weird collection…

“We should plant these flowers,” my husband suggested. Since we were both experiencing the rare phenomenon of a simultaneous day off, we decided to tackle a project that had long been evading us. The flower bed that hugs our front porch had become overrun with weeds, crabgrass, and a failed…

It never fails. Around this time of year, it’s not unusual for everyone’s cellphone in our house to emit that piercing sound to alert us of an emergency notification. And the emergency? Severe weather in our area. Residents of northern Alabama, where I live, are used to hunkering down during…

After waking up in the middle of the night and emptying the contents of my stomach all over the floor, I weakly walked to my parents’ room and woke up my mother. When she finally understood what I was mumbling, she got up, cleaned my floor, cleaned me up,…

“My body just locked up and I collapsed,” Matthew Nawn recalled. Known for its difficulty, the Boston Marathon winds through eight different cities and towns across 26.2 miles. With over 30,000 participants each year and an average finishing rate of 84%, the annual race is not for the average runner.

“Did someone lock the door?” It was a common question we’d hear whenever we got into the car. My father was meticulous about ensuring that the front door of our home was always locked. Although we lived in a great neighborhood, our house sat on a large corner, providing ample…

“I called to ask your scholarship provider,” my dad said over the phone. “They think you’re a freshman.” The problem? I was a second-semester sophomore. At the beginning of my fourth semester of undergrad studies, my father discovered that one of my scholarships hadn’t been applied to my account. The…

Whether I was wrestling with theorems in unified geometry, had to remember names of capitals in geography, or was forced to memorize elements on the periodic table in science, I was never a fan of taking tests. Aside from the surprise of pop quizzes, I usually knew when a test…

“I’m sorry, you can what?” the person asked me. The question made me pause. At a dinner years ago, I found myself conversing with someone who’d seen a few of my plays. Admittedly, I was drawn to the conversation because, as a playwright, I rarely get to talk about my…

I grew up in a musical family. Because my mother was a voice teacher, piano prodigy, and arranger, and because my father is a first tenor (who recently retired from directing his choir after 50 years), my sister and I grew up in an environment where music was always…