Have you ever been 150 feet away from an eagle as it dives down and pulls its prey from Puget Sound? Have you ever sat in your husband’s tiny boat and clapped because you were there for the wildlife show? After years of hearing about fishing and firmly saying no every time my husband asked […]
Category: Happy
Full of Summer
It’s August 10th, and summer is not slowing down or cooling down. This is always the time of year when I’m both sad that the school year looms ahead and I’m also losing my mind because summer is not slowing down or cooling down. I’m frantically creating memories for my rapidly growing children while barking […]
It’s an Inside Job
A few years ago, I used to make lists of friends. Sometimes I would make circles too, signifying layers of friendships. I was teaching myself boundaries. I was teaching myself who to trust. I was learning that even though I want to pop my mouth and spill my deepest darkest secrets to everyone I met […]
Monday Quiet
Monday is quiet. The loudest noises belong to the teen girls outside the library. They share a plastic liter bottle of Cherry Coke and sing show tunes. They dance as they sit; they are all movement with no embarrassment. My ten year old and I sit on the built rock outcropping and watch them. We […]
Rock On (Celebrating 45)
I spill my rocks out on the wooden desk. The desk that lived in my in-laws home for many years. The wood is solid even if the writing platform is too high. I like that it’s left behind from a time now passed even as I keep pushing against the thought that stuff outlasts people. […]
Build Your Own Life Raft
So often I want someone else to build my life raft for me. Some song from my childhood runs through my head, “What about me/ It isn’t fair/ I’ve had enough now I want my share.” My share seems to include someone else figuring out my shit for me. A funny thing happens when you […]
Kindness Wins
I keep thinking about the idea of how kindness wins. Years ago when my kids were young — maybe one in early elementary and one late preschool — my best friend from childhood visited us. Afterwards we texted each other with lists of what was transforming about our time together. My friend said she noticed […]
Onion Thoughts
My skin is thin. The world cuts into me like I’m the layers of an onion. Peel me and you reach tears quickly. Often I dislike my porous hide. Or maybe it’s my eyes within my head that bring me to grief. I see things that usually remain hidden. This is what makes me a […]