Letters from the Lunchbox began at a funeral. A little odd I know, but mixed in with the tears of that day I found a moment of hope. His name was Brent. He died at the age of 44 after being diagnosed with cancer. He was the steadfast husband of a good friend. Before the…
“I love snakes,” my 7-year-old neighbor said to me. “Sometimes I catch them and kiss them and I don’t even wash my lips.”
It’s two days before Christmas and it’s raining. The intermittent islands of snow leftover from last week’s storm have turned into mush and mud.
I am captivated by all things Christmas. My house, inside and out, reflects my slight obsession with the red and green holiday.
I’m sweating. The Arc Trainer console displays a digital steep hill as I press my Nike clad feet harder on the foot pedals. I’m breathing heavy, trying to maintain a steady pace. It’s about 4 o’clock in the afternoon and the sizable cardio room at the city recreation center is sparsely populated. There’s a woman…
It’s a Thursday night in February. Remnants of crusty snow dot the lawn, the ground is frozen, and tomorrow is garbage day. I’m wearing socks, no coat, and trying to pull the hefty gray garbage can down the driveway to the curb. It’s a simple thing; I’ve done it many times before. It shouldn’t trouble…
A shroud of clouds wrapped the sky in gray. Throughout the day sizeable snowflakes white-washed the familiar landscape into a foreign terrain. The afternoon was turning dusky and Olivia, my five-year-old daughter, stood at the window. She couldn’t wait one more minute. “The snows stopping momma! Let’s go!” I’d promised her, if the weather…
She came home to die when the peaches hung heavy on the tree limbs. My siblings and I readied her room, put sheets on the recently delivered hospital bed, and cleared away her precariously balanced tower of clothes stacked on the chair. There would be no more life-prolonging procedures or prayers for miracles. There was…
November 15, 2021
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December 13, 2021
December 6, 2021
November 29, 2021
Raelene Burnett, a believer that stories can unite and inspire, has been a clandestine writer for most of her life. A Disneyland devotee and a lover of hammocks on tropical beaches, she seeks to shine a small light in a dark world. Thanks for being here.
