I keep thinking about a writing prompt I read recently. It was actually a call for writers to write about what their mother taught them. Oh, a loaded question, right? Because the prompt had those funny ideas that aren’t really funny. Such as, did your mom teach you to mix a perfect cocktail? Let’s laugh […]
Category: At Home
When Conversation Isn’t Casual
“I’d like a nap, but the kids are maybe the reason that won’t happen,” I said. “I don’t know, you look pretty fulfilled,” said the Fred Meyer clerk. “I mean, I don’t have kids, but how old are yours?” If this conversation wasn’t weird enough already, it takes a turn for the even weirder here. […]
The Dead Speak
We tend to idolize the dead. It’s so easy to appreciate people when we don’t live with their very human aspects anymore. I can see people with so much more humor and grace when I’m not rubbing up against them, it seems. I think about this all the time when I picture how my father-in-law […]
Throw out the Names
I’m always looking for perfection. This idea gets in the way of movement. Where is the perfect article to start my day with? I could write if I just read the right words. I could fix myself if I could just stick the right parameters around myself. And then I cast the net wider to […]
A Look Back with a Glimpse Forward
I haven’t sent out my annual letter yet, the one I tuck in with the holiday photo card. It’s all about bliss this year, but I keep thinking about what I left out. I love honesty in a synopsis, and my letter is truthful. I can say the year was grand, that I was able […]
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 […]
Stay Home
It’s a weird time of year. My yoga teacher Jen talks about this fact every December. The short, dark days plead with us to slow down, to hibernate, to conserve energy and stay warm. The social calendar calls us to go out, live it up, and socialize more than usual. This push and pull season […]