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There was a time in my life when I longed for the kind of good friends I have now. I mean true kindred spirits. Soulmates. People who care for me and allow me to care for them. People who are at once vulnerable and wise. People who make me feel safe and who welcome my...
I was listening to an interview with brilliant children’s author, Kate DiCamillo, on the On Being Podcast. She told a story of a little boy who was leaning heavily on her while she signed his book. His mother said, “Don’t lean on her, honey.” And the boy answered, “It’s okay, Mom, she knows me.” This...
The members of my women’s group each pick a “word for the year.” I went round and round on which word to choose this time. Going round and round on some things is, unfortunately, how my mind often works. Finally, I settled on the word, “flow,” partly because I’d love to learn how to just...
I was presenting to a group of 7th graders about writing and World War II , which is what my novels are about. At one point, I asked someone to speak up with an example. Many of you may remember being in 7th grade. It’s that time when you sort of want to speak up,...
When I was a kid, I made up my own language. I wanted to speak in a foreign tongue, but, of course, I didn’t know any, so I just strung some sounds together and pretended. I mostly spoke it to my stuffed animals and sometimes to my little brother, probably to bug him. And occasionally...
As we stepped outside the other day, I suggested my husband and I do a “color walk,” where you look for a specific color as you stroll along. He chose red, of course. It’s his favorite color. So, we started naming red things immediately: red front door, red car, red trim on house, red wagon....
Lately, I’ve been musing on my choice of shower songs and worrying a bit about what they might say about me. I’ve found lists of the most popular shower songs on the internet and none of them make it into my repertoire. Mine seem to be dredged up from the far reaches of my mind...
Recently, I had two dreams back-to-back that both featured me eating gummy bears. This struck me as odd. I like gummy bears, but they’re not something I usually seek out. Being more the organic dark chocolate type, they’re not a candy that typically crosses my mind. I’ve always meant to get better at interpreting and...
Since I was young, the F-word has been what I called my “reserve word.” If you heard me say it you knew one of two things: I was either royally pissed or I’d had too much to drink, and either way, you should probably take me home. In the past few years of living in...
A friend and I are going chapter by chapter through the book It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver. We had both read it before, but not one chapter a week as the author suggests. There’s a very important section in the book where the author talks about getting rid of clutter. Casting out the...