“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” As I walk the dogs, I remember this line from an Alice Walker poem. But I remember it differently. I hear it as, “Expect nothing. Live frugally/on despair.” Why did I love this line long ago? Did my despair feed me? It didn’t. I wanted it all, but I […]
Author: Nancy Schatz Alton
The School of Many Chances, Mantra-style
Let me ground this idea in today’s news. This morning I needed to be granted many chances. The waking hours are not my best parenting hours. I woke early, long before the kids needed to get up. I read all my favorite poetry websites, checked my e-email, showered, and coffeed my body. (Shouldn’t coffee be […]
Shake It Off!
Monday was so a mid-August day. I was cranky; the kids were cranky; it was hot; and I kept wondering what the dog days of summer really meant. I thought if I could figure out what that term meant I might not throttle anyone with my annoyance. But I knew the dog days of summer […]
Waking Up Happy
The news-feed is filled with despair this week and my news-feed equals Facebook, The New York Times, and the helicopter flying above my neighborhood at 6:30 am. Robin Williams took his own life, the cops are shooting citizens, and war rages in so many places on our planet. But I woke up today and found […]
Beach Thoughts on those Early Years of Parenting
I sit next to my husband on a rocky beach that faces Saratoga Passage. Already used to the beauty in front of us, I comment to Chris that these women all around us that are parenting small children made it look so easy. “I don’t remember that time as easy. I don’t think I was […]
Holding Space
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of holding space. Whatever does that mean? Are you worried that I am about to launch into more mindfulness chatter with no mention of the dogs? Do you come here wanting a wagging tail to convey a tale with meaning packed into the punch line? It’s […]
Giving Meaning to the Not-Free Red Chair
Today I spied a gorgeous red chair next to a telephone pole. I slowed down the car and looked for a “free” sign. The chair stood next to the telephone pole that wears a witch around Halloween. The chair wasn’t wearing a “take me” badge, and I thought that the neighborhood kids must have been […]
How will the book end?
A few months ago I sat and drank tea with a friend. We meet to talk poetry and life every month or so, whenever time allows. I told her about the two white dogs we might adopt. Her reply put me face to face with my memoir writer’s block. “Maybe that’s how your book will […]
See Me! Love Me Anyway!
This morning I sat on my twelve-year-old daughter’s bed. Between us sat a dog named Indu. On the floor another dog stood at attention. Julio wanted us to play. My nine-year-old slowly woke in the room next door. And Chris stood watching the dogs, KK, and me. Then he said, “Mom looks like her teenage […]
Still a Human Being
Today I clicked here and found out I hadn’t posted in a month. A month! What is up with that? The good news is I have been busy with so many writing assignments. Last week a job teaching creative writing to emerging writers fell out of the sky and landed in my lap, too. I […]