Katie Wilkes
A Magnet for Emergencies: How I Dodged a Big One
When I travel, it often feels like emergencies follow me. A tsunami warning post-touchdown in Southern California. A seizure behind me in...
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Katie Wilkes
May 15, 20234 min read
Pause of the Paws: 4 Advantages of a Pup-free Year
It was a rebellious act. But that’s one upside of living solo: no one sees what you do or say or how you act unless you want them to. (Or...
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Katie Wilkes
Apr 30, 20236 min read
Hello from the Other Side
I’ve spent a lot of time listening this past year. Listening on my walks for the sudden babbling fountain in the shape of a turtle....
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Katie Wilkes
Apr 15, 20238 min read
The Show-Stopping Sign that Altered my Grief
Turns out, I can be a terrible predictor. Anticipating grief ahead of the actual loss, I was convinced it would take me years to fully...
220 views
Katie Wilkes
Mar 24, 20234 min read
Tick Tock, Special Delivery
Elephants, I learned this week, are pregnant for 22 months – longer than any other mammal. And listen to this: mama sea turtles navigate...
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Katie Wilkes
Mar 10, 20234 min read
The Underbelly
Some folks in DC couldn’t be more annoyed by the drive to Baltimore. But I’ve come to love my hour-long journeys to turtle rescue days at...
174 views
Katie Wilkes
Feb 19, 20235 min read
The Greatest Rejection I Ever Received
“Are you deploying to ____?” Some form of this question will pop up in conversation when a massive, heartbreaking crisis hits the...
595 views
Katie Wilkes
Feb 8, 20234 min read
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
I drew it on a whim, quick strokes just for fun. Four years later, it’s still there: a little cartoon drawing of Ferg on my dry erase...
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Katie Wilkes
Jan 18, 20234 min read
Caught off Guard
There’s a certain strange confirmation in the early days, weeks and months of an all-consuming grief period. The fog, the crushing, it...
267 views
Katie Wilkes
Jan 5, 20235 min read
Rescued: Wading for You
Fall 2011: Boxes. The end of one chapter, the start of another. Precious cargo. I drop a stack of leaning ones when, out of the corner of...
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Katie Wilkes
Dec 15, 20223 min read
Don't Touch That Otter!
“Back. away. from. that. OTTER!” the woman shouts through a bullhorn from a tower. Her blood must be rushing to her cheeks, we can feel...
117 views
Katie Wilkes
Nov 27, 20224 min read
The Donkey Mom
He watches me approach with coffee mug in hand, leftover hay sticking to his ears after breakfast. Warm air funnels from his nose to the...
187 views
Katie Wilkes
Nov 6, 20224 min read
Backpacks and Blinders
All the other kids hand in their homework. But I stay back. My cheeks flush and the bottom drops out of my belly. My assignment has...
83 views
Katie Wilkes
Oct 24, 20224 min read
Proof of Life: When Comedy Comes to Town
The crunching gravel beneath my sneakers halts. I’ve caused quite a shock: she’s frozen, every hair on her body stands erect. Eyes locked...
79 views
Katie Wilkes
Oct 14, 20224 min read
Honeymoon for One: Saying Yes to Flippered Warrior Wisdom
Surely, it’s gone by now, I thought, reading the comments beneath the Instagram post. There I was overlooking the inky skyline from my...
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Katie Wilkes
Oct 8, 20224 min read
The Story Behind the Sun
Here we go… I sang from the driver’s seat glancing at Ferguson riding shotgun. Sitting regally tall, he – and I – were both ready to...
101 views
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