I owe my high school drama teacher an apology. When I took Drama 10 I had expectations that were plainly different than my teacher’s. To say we didn’t see eye to eye would be an understatement. I know she felt I was difficult. I know that because she wrote it on my report card. I […]
Grief
Why I hate winter a little less than I used to…
I don’t love snow. I don’t even really like snow. I’ve never liked it. That’s a problem when you live in a part of the world where it is winter for a solid six months. I’m flexing my optimism muscles there because if you live where I do you know that six months of winter […]
A lesson in life from the birch tree…
I spent nearly all day at my desk writing a funeral service; hour upon hour steeped in memories that aren’t mine. I spent my day holding the grief of a family in my hands and in my heart as I struggled to find the words to do justice to 94 years of living. I spent […]
Sunday meditation on spring, birdsong, and grief…
I am sitting on the trunk of a fallen aspen in the woods behind our house. My eyes are closed and my face is lifted to the sun which is already quite high in the eastern sky. It was cold overnight; cold enough to freeze the water laying in the low spots on the trail. […]
Wedding wishes – tying a knot that lasts
It has been a big summer for weddings. I just returned home from attending my third wedding celebration. That’s an unprecedented number of weddings in one season for us. Thanks, no doubt, to the influence of Pinterest, each ceremony was unique in its own way. Wedded bliss In July, it was a backyard soirée to […]
We are all the same kind of different…
Beautiful…and a little dangerous It can mean different things, but if you go back to its origin, her name means ‘lily’ or ‘rose’. Most often her name is taken to mean ‘beautiful’. And she was, probably still is, but it’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen her. She was a student at the […]
The truth about my Facebook Year in Review video
The past few days my Facebook news feed has been flooded with personalized 2017 Year in Review videos. Did you have one? Did you watch it? What did you think? Did you edit it before you shared it? I watched about half a dozen before I watched my own. You know what I thought? I […]
Miracles happen
It is Easter Sunday. I’m tucked into my chair in the corner of the dining room where I can watch the birds at the feeder and the deer stroll through the yard on their quest for easy food. The sky is a little grey. On a normal year, this would be the first big family […]
Emotional apologies
A week or so ago, I was watching the news and a woman was recounting the story of a traumatic event. It was clear she was struggling with the words and when her voice finally broke and tears fell, she choked out two words…”I’m sorry.” I thought, “What on earth does she have to apologize […]
Thoughts on being kind
I woke up early this morning. My eyes popped open at 4:28am. That’s pretty specific, I know, but the first thing I saw was the glowing face of the clock beside me. I knew in an instant, with absolute certainty, that I wouldn’t be going back to sleep because my mind was already focused and […]
