Posts by jcramermiller
Can You Keep A Secret, Minneapolis?
I’m a Midwestern girl, born and bred. But college came calling, so I ventured beyond Minneapolis towards the Seattle’s Pacific coast. I took in grunge, coffee culture, the waters of Puget Sound, and a fairly consistent climate. I left the middle and found the edge. That’s when I discovered that misconceptions about Minneapolis abound. No,…
Read MoreDieting, Brains, & Kids: What You Need To Know
Diet-mania is everywhere—The Biggest Loser is a huge hit with a giant scale, diet promotions bombard social media, and we still remember Oprah hauling a wagon full of chicken fat to illustrate her 67-pound weight loss years ago. Oprah, like so many others dieters, gained that wagon of weight back. Why didn’t her original diet…
Read MoreGot Clutter?
In the process of helping my mother-in-law move from her home of sixty years, my husband tossed a file of receipts from 1978. My first thought—wow, old file. My second, what about my files? Although I have no plans to move in the near future, I need to do a mock-move cleanout. Back home, I…
Read MoreBe You: and Other Lessons Learned from David Sedaris
As fans of David Sedaris, my daughter and I jumped at the chance to see him in New London, Connecticut, Liza’s college town. His writing performance was wildly entertaining, as expected. He also taught us a lot about writing, less expected, and quite a bonus. I am delighted this piece was published in Brevity. You can…
Read MoreAvocado
A big thank you to The Sunlight Press, (a reflective, well done literary journal) for publishing my piece, Avocado. It is impossible to articulate a proper thank you to my mom after she gave me her kidney. Although the right words don’t exist, I can try. My gratitude for my mom extends as well to…
Read MoreOne Daily Practice for a Better Life
Busy lives create busy minds. The nonstop thoughts that compete for our attention every day are not always positive ones. Sometimes, a steady stream of stress and negativity play like a continuous news ticker in our brains. Fortunately, we all possess a powerful inner tool to reorder this stream and refocus. This tool, or habit,…
Read MoreKylie Jenner is not a Helpful Study Buddy: The Negative Impact of Media on Our Girls and What We Can Do About It
The standard of beauty that saturates our media has a negative influence on young girls from an early age. We know this. Barbies have tiny waists and big molded plastic chests and would topple over if they were real women. Disney Princesses have nearly the same shape. And a quick glance at the magazine covers…
Read MoreLife Lessons from our Dog’s Death
When my husband was out of town on business, my daughter and I Google-ed dog pictures for fun. One adorable image led to another—big round eyes, perky ears, irresistible expressions. Some quick research, some local calls, and soon she and I were in Bloomington at a dog breeder’s home. A black and white ball of…
Read MoreThe Day the Lights Went Out
I am rushing—our taxi will arrive in 45 minutes. As I brush my teeth with a towel tightly wrapped around me, my husband walks in, sits on the edge of the tub, and makes muffled noises. I turn to look at him. He folds over and holds his face in his hands. “Are you okay?”…
Read MoreDirty family secrets at the TSA
My husband values efficiency in travel, so he set an appointment for the three of us to apply for TSA Global Access passes. Dirk wanted to speed up the line through Customs for our upcoming vacation to London, and a co-worker told him a quick and simple interview was all it took. It started off…
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