Author Archives: Helen Baldwin

I spent a small fortune on cute books for the kindergarteners I taught at Brockman School, then a self-contained public school in Columbia, South Carolina. The students, many with severe disabilities, delighted in hearing the animated voices of the stories I read to them. My own…

Sunday afternoon’s dreary skies and light rain tempted me mightily to crawl onto the recliner and drift right off. I doubt I could’ve counted to 10 before unconscious bliss took over — momentarily, anyway. It was also a dreary day for our older dog, Maple, a boxer…

For years, slogans with the “F-bomb” (for a certain expletive) have expressed utter contempt for catastrophic diseases, social injustices, or whatever else riles folks up. The first such campaign I remember was about cancer. I certainly didn’t disagree with the desire to eliminate the ravages of the disease, but…

When I was growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, our family vacations were precious getaways. Time and money constraints kept us primarily in Texas, but there was plenty to do. During one summer trip to south Texas, we walked across the border to Mexico on a dreadfully…

Unlike most days when I draft my column, I had this one all figured out. Recent brain sparks of potential topics provided me with such confidence. I plopped down at the computer earlier than usual on Sunday to tend to a few odds and ends before getting down to…

Somehow we’re fast approaching June’s final days! As summer continues, plenty of memories dance in my head. Particularly eventful, to put it mildly, was 1997. Our summer that year commenced in mid-May, when our third baby, Jeffrey, arrived two weeks ahead of schedule. As my volunteering stints in the…

Given the hair-raising books and movies I favored growing up, you’d think I’d have uttered a scream at some point. Genuine screams, however, were reserved for roller coasters until my husband, Randy, became a football coach. Then I morphed into a maniac. Granted, I considered my high-decibel screams warranted…

I celebrated a birthday recently, kicking off the final year of my 60s in memorable fashion. As I got ready at home to join our grandson, James, for a Mother’s Day breakfast in his class at school, I opened the bathroom door. Sprawled out over the entire…

A surprise pregnancy hurled my husband, Randy, and me way off guard in the fall of 1996. There were gasps aplenty when our peeps received the news, as we were both in our 40s and already weary of hawking fundraiser wrapping paper. Our bonus baby, Jeffrey, arrived on…

In the North Carolina mountains, spring signifies random weather: gorgeous blue skies, rain, wind, thunder, snow, and freeze warnings — sometimes all on the same day. Buds and blossoms are exploding, and the bees are happy. We noticed the annual duck visitation in the pond and…