Street scene in Waxahachie, Texas — Photo by Terrye Turpin Street Photography Challenge My husband and I live near Dallas, Texas and we are fortunate to have many interesting small towns within driving distance for weekend jaunts. We browse through antique stores and thrift shops and I always bring my camera along, looking for inspiration and hoping for … Continue reading Road Trip Through Texas
Author: mstturpin
Writer in Plano, Texas trying to get the words out of her head and onto the page.
A Pivot Toward Acceptance
Photo by Terrye Turpin In 1980, after my sophomore year in college at Texas Woman’s University, I waited for the letter that would lead to a pivot point in my life. Some months before, I had applied through the Baptist Student Union to be a summer missionary. I signed up, not out of deep religious conviction … Continue reading A Pivot Toward Acceptance
When We Are Small
Photo by Terrye Turpin Despite the crying during our last visit, we took our grandson, Will, back to the Heard Museum to see the robotic dinosaur display. When you are shorter than three feet tall anything larger than a cat is intimidating, especially if it has sharp teeth and looks like it might eat you. “He’s … Continue reading When We Are Small
You Can Blame My Mother
Distrustful Cat wonders who is at the door — Photo by Terrye Turpin I’ve legally changed my name one time. When I married my first husband, I took his last name, and it has stuck through a divorce and a second marriage. Turpin is unusual enough, but my first name is the one that strikes fear in the … Continue reading You Can Blame My Mother
40 Lovely Things I Would Miss
If the World Ended Today The Author at Thorncrown Chapel, Arkansas — Photo by Andrew Shaw If I could spend the end with orphaned, broken booksI’d give them all a home. I love Recycled Books in Denton, Texas. The warm embrace at the end of the laundry cycle, Like old friends gone away and returned.I love clothes tumbled and toasty from … Continue reading 40 Lovely Things I Would Miss
Life Loves Fast Food
Dairy Queen — Photo by Terrye Turpin Drive-thru tacos taste like summer, Like girls in halter tops and cut-off shorts, And shirtless boys with swimming pool tans Wearing their father’s cologne. Cherry cola on crushed ice, Cold and sweating in the waxed cup, Flavored with music from an open car window, Tastes like rock and roll. Fast food … Continue reading Life Loves Fast Food
What We Deserve
Photo by Terrye Turpin I didn’t miss having a dryer until I bought my washing machine. For the two years after my divorce I made do with the community laundry room at the apartment complex where I lived. It seemed a little self-indulgent to complain about the lack of a washer and dryer when there were … Continue reading What We Deserve
The Playground
Photo by Terrye Turpin Sound of my winter in B&W
The Chicken Dance
Photo by Terrye Turpin I’d been sick with a cold, and in case I didn’t recover in time for the weekend, Andrew and I cancelled the camping trip we had planned. Back then we were still in the early stages of dating when broken plans required a spectacular replacement. He asked me what I wanted to … Continue reading The Chicken Dance
You Can Lead a Pill Bug to Water…
But You Can’t Make Them Do Much Else. Photo by Terrye Turpin I’d been thinking about adopting a cat. I wanted a soft, purring companion, one that wouldn’t demand I hand over the remote as they snuggled up next to me on the couch. My vision didn’t include dumping out the litter box. Despite numerous calculations, … Continue reading You Can Lead a Pill Bug to Water…
