Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I could have been with him tonight.
I could have been with him at this moment.
I could have watched the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico with him in my arms, with this man who has been driving me crazy for months, tickling [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I’m not sure which alcoholic drink caused me to contemplate the meaning of play, but eight hours into the party, standing in the rain and lightning and listening to the last of the Joe-a-Palooza bands, I was pretty sure of the definition.
I’m not [...]
Continue reading about Jello Shooters, Electric Guitars, and the Conductivity of Water
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I think one of the most valuable things a counselor ever told me was that when I finally started standing up for myself or telling people no for a change, I’d be told that I’m mean. And that I needed to be prepared [...]
Continue reading about Bloody Compromise Can Lead to Compassion
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
A year and a day. That’s how much time has passed since I cringed and looked into my husband’s eyes and told him I saw him for what he was and that I was leaving him. A year and a day, and it’s [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
It’s the last day of school for Shannon’s freshman year of high school, and she pays me the most amazing compliment: “Someday,” she says, “they’ll write history books about you.”
That’s a little scary, I think. I’m not sure I want other people writing [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
“We want you to think outside the box!” one of the supervisors at my day job insists to a crowd of bored bureaucrats.
All I can do is smirk. I’ve been thinking outside the box for over 2000 years, but when I tell him [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
No one else heard the tone of voice or the sincerity in it or the want. They saw things, at best, from a distance. Anything they heard was second hand, usually from me in defense of what they didn’t understand, in defense of [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
My dead grandfather is in my garden. Again.
But where else would he be? No one he loved/loves still lives on the farm under the old oaks where he spent the bulk of his 90 years as an entrepreneur and individualist. He was resourceful [...]
Continue reading about Thank You for Treating Me Like Shit (No, Really….)
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
Uh, oh. The secret’s out. Other single women in their 30’s and 40’s now know the top spots to meet men. That’s right: hardware stores.
Forget bars and blind dates and Internet dating services. Hardware stores have more in store than nuts and screws. [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
My grandfather has just personally delivered some truly shocking news. Most people would think it quite shocking enough to know that Granddaddy died nine years, ten months, and 29 days ago at the age of 90.
Oh, but it just gets better.
I’ve been working [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
“Get off the phone—now!” I’m yelling to my 12-year-old as I hang up the cell phone and reach for the land line. “I have to talk to Miss Vicki!”
My daughter has heard that phrase thousands of times in her life, since she was [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
What is it about me that attracts verbal abusers into my life? The good news is that I can spot them now—they speak the same language, same phrases, the exact same words and actions—but the bad news is that there are just so [...]
Continue reading about Words Can Never Hurt Me …and Other Lies
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
How did I get to be so stupid to people who supposedly think I’m so smart? My ex-husband of two decades, a dear confidante of 5 years, and now a business partner and friend of 12 years. All treating me as though I [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
Snippets of conversations sometimes come back to haunt me. Rarely are they words I’ve spoken myself, so it’s not a matter of regretting something I’ve said or done.
Vicki tells me that middle-age spread is a direct result of eating your own words and [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I’ve spent the past hour talking to a man who interests me. Though I think he interests my friends more.
He’s everything they seem to want for me. The proverbial tall, dark, and handsome. Extremely intelligent. Very successful in his career field. Stylish and [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I’m supposed to be devastated. Everyone said I would be devastated. But I’m not. Instead, I’m…bemused.
My daughters have just returned home with news that their father has a girlfriend. Having been forewarned and forearmed, I wait for the aftereffects.
“It doesn’t matter if you [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
Discreet relationship, my ass! I wouldn’t mind a private relationship, but there’s a big difference between a private relationship and a discreet one, usually the marital status of one or both parties.
What is with these married men asking me out?! I’m divorced, for [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I have no fears that I will not be loved again. I have seen it. Better, I have felt his feelings for me—from the inside.
We can hear men tell us how they feel about us and hope they’re not lying. But we can [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I have no fears that I will not be loved again. I have seen it. Better, I have felt his feelings for me—from the inside.
We can hear men tell us how they feel about us and hope they’re not lying. But we can [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
“Excellent!” declares my writer pal, Kathleen. “This is the best news I’ve heard from you all year.”
Huh? The fact that I’ve been repainting the interior of my house in purple and green is the highlight of my year, as far as she’s concerned? [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
It’s been a long night, and I haven’t slept a wink. Again. I could blame it on this insane trachea infection that’s finally starting to yield, but I won’t. I’ve been working on a book proposal, and while it’s kept my energies channeled [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
I thought it was just me. Instead, I find it’s every divorced woman I know between 30 and 55, and a few men as well. We’re all clueless about what to do next, and none of us like it.
We’ve lost control over our [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
Twice in the past month, I’ve drawn the Two of Cups. It’s one of the most beautiful cards in my Arthurian Tarot deck. A man and woman stand together aboard a dragon-faced ship, locked in a deep embrace, her head against his chest, [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
It comes as a clear revelation to me in the middle of a night when I’m sick as a dog and my head is foggy with cough syrup: I can fuck anyone I want.
Okay, with the exception of The Treat, who’s off-limits. But [...]
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree.
The Treat. He’s the King of Wands, and I’m a cold, heartless bitch.
I’ve heard of him before, in this terminology. Last October, while my divorce case was in full-fledged hell, I’d asked a church Elder to lay a Tarot spread for me. She [...]
Continue reading about Bringing Unaware Patterns to the Surface
