Do you ever wonder if seemingly insignificant moments mirror our current mood? As many of you know, this past week has been heartbreaking, depleting, devastating, shocking and more.

I wrote last week about a soul, Dave Adams, who left an indelible imprint on my heart. Dave left us in 2007 at only 59 years old. He was the publisher of the Indiana Daily Student when I was a reporter and editor at IU.

In 1992, as we hugged and sobbed, we made a promise. Graduation wasn’t goodbye; we decided it’d be the bridge to our next chapter. We agreed that one day we’d return to our beloved Hoosier home where the three of us met. We finally did.

Do you ever contemplate the meaning of one simple word? I do. I also find inflection and the expression of words intriguing. It’s one of the myriad reasons I love to write!

Cymbals in the sky boldly interrupted the serene silence. Then seconds later the bedroom became a laser light show. It was 2:30 a.m.

There’s a palpable shift in the air; the back-to-school buzz has begun. I foolishly attempted to return an item at Target. The second I entered the store, I saw lines suffocating cashiers.