The wooden gate marks a beat with no beat. The wind is winning my attention. The rain is pulsing out a rhythm. It’s Tuesday and although the world outside my window is all wetness, I just saw a bee (or what looked like a bee) fly by. The rain moves at a slant, right to […]
Category: Zen
My Bleeding Heart, Examined
So often I don’t know how to start writing. Especially on happy mornings like the one I’m living right now. The girls don’t have school and I laughed when Chris tried to wake us all up. I loved his befuddlement, the way he called out, “Are you up yet?” Even though we’ve been talking about […]
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 […]
Saying Yes
Today I said yes. I said yes even though I usually say no to going to the water/amusement park with my husband and kids. I said yes because they are growing up at warp speed right now. I said yes because I am growing up at warp speed right now. Say […]
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. […]
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 […]
Righting a Fiction
I look up from checking out library books at my local branch and see two girls wearing their soccer uniforms. Their blond hairs are swept up in pony tails. One wears cleats while the other wears black Adidas flip-flops. These teens go to my daughters’ K-8 school, and I’m surprised to see them in soccer […]
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 […]
Problems Come and Go, But Can They Dance?
Is this a big problem or a small problem? I keep thinking about this question. I’ve decided to take the word problem out of my lexicon. Once my brother said to me something like this: If you didn’t have your problems, then you couldn’t solve them. It’s not that I’m going to stop having problems. […]