jenniferbartellpoet

Finding My Parents

conversations I lost, all of the goodbyes and hellos, the cookouts and dinner celebrations, all of the two-meat Sundays.

Still Can’t Believe I’m Somebody’s Mama: A Reflection, One Year Later

My pandemic baby is about to be a one-year-old. This is my motherhood journey.

Can I Keep a Tomato Plant Alive?

I’ve only recently been able to keep a house plant alive. The legacy of the green thumb had skipped me. Or so I thought.

Cooking from Memory: Ma’s Recipe Book & Holiday Food Traditions

So much of what she knew as a cook was in her head. So much of what she knew as a cook she knew by heart. But I wanted to get those recipes nonetheless, to learn to cook for myself, to learn to cook for a future family perhaps.

#DaughterOf Barbara McCray Bartell

This Memorial Day is also what would have been my mother’s 72nd birthday. Here I celebrate her legacy, including her years in the Women’s Army Corps.