When Michael got down on one knee, I thought the hardest part of our engagement would be deciding between peonies and lilies for the centerpieces. What I didn’t know was that his mother, Barbara, had her own plans for our wedding—specifically, for it never to happen. Barbara Calloway is the kind of woman who doesn’t …
Justice
The first email wasn’t even subtle. “Mark deserves better,” it read. “Ask him about Lisa. He hasn’t moved on.” Anonymous, vague, and dripping with venom. I knew exactly what it was: bait. Mark and I had been together for two years by then, and if there was one thing I was sure of, it was …
The PTA can be like stepping into a gladiator arena where the weapons are casserole recipes and gossip. And in our PTA, Lisa Calloway ruled with an iron fist wrapped in a cashmere cardigan. She knew everyone’s secrets—or at least claimed to—and she wielded them like daggers. The thing about Lisa is, she wasn’t just …
If you’ve ever lived in a neighborhood with an HOA, you know there’s always that one person. The self-appointed rule enforcer. The clipboard-carrying busybody who can quote the community guidelines better than the bylaws committee. For us, that person was Roger. Roger took HOA enforcement to new heights—or depths, depending on how you look at …
The internet loves a good hero. And in the animal rescue world, that hero is often whoever has the flashiest story, the most tear-jerking video, or the loudest voice. But for those of us who do the work—cleaning cages, soothing scared animals, and fighting for every scrap of funding—we know there’s a difference between saving …
Being an “influencer” is a balancing act. I don’t have a huge number of followers, but I have a decent number of people who subscribe. You want to be relatable—but not so relatable that people think, Why should I listen to you? For years, I thought I’d nailed it. My Instagram was a curated masterpiece, …
There’s a particular kind of magic to a charity gala. The clinking of champagne glasses, the soft hum of polite conversation, the glitter of sequins under chandeliers—it’s all designed to feel effortless. But as someone who’s been behind the scenes, I can tell you it’s anything but. Events like these are carefully orchestrated chaos, and …
Hospitals are full of stories. Some are tragic, others hopeful, and a few make their way into the breakroom, traded like candy from a forgotten drawer. I’ve always steered clear of those stories. Gossip is like wildfire—it starts with a spark and ends with everything in ashes. That’s why it stung so much when I …
Running a charity race wasn’t something I had on my bingo card this year. I’m a schoolteacher, a mom of two, and a perpetual member of the “How is there never enough time?” club. But when my daughter’s after-school sports program announced they needed funds to keep going, I laced up my sneakers and signed …
Weddings are a balancing act—beauty, chaos, and emotions wrapped in one frantic day. As a planner, my job is to keep the balance, no matter what. But every now and then, someone comes along determined to tip the scales. Today, that someone was Tiffany. I’d been warned. “She’s my cousin,” Kate, the bride, had confessed …