This morning I broke a record for the most times I’ve hit the snooze button on my alarm. I’m not proud of that fact, but in my pandemic world, there’s no strong reason to rush out of bed. Now, I know if you still have your full-time job or if you’re rising early to get...
Drawing is not one of my talents. Nevertheless, I took a class to learn to draw mandalas. As the instructor was demonstrating a design, she made a slight error. She encouraged us not to worry about our mistakes, though, because you could often incorporate them into your creation in an interesting way. “Some of my...
I’ve always turned down invitations to join book clubs. Not because I don’t see the value in them and definitely not because I didn’t like the people inviting me, but because I always seem to have stacks of books of my own to read. Lately, though, I’ve found myself in three book groups. It so...
When I was a little girl, my younger brother and I listened often to a beloved record of old cowboy songs. Growing up in Idaho, we had real live cowboys walking down the street and we were fascinated by them and by the outlaws of the Old West. My favorite song on the album was...
I confess that I, too, have been using the word “unprecedented” to describe our current condition during this COVID-19 pandemic. And in so many ways, the word seems to fit. But then I came across these lines in Bill Bryson’s book, Shakespeare: The World as Stage, “London’s theaters were officially ordered shut, and would remain...
A friend related a story on social media the other day about meeting a wonderful couple at the train station and bonding with them during a two-hour waiting period. It was clear how much joy that encounter brought her. It reminded me of a similar experience I had last week on a plane ride home...
We parents learn so much from our children. This week, I’m feeling inspired by my daughter who, when she was in college, created a list she called her “Small Life Goals.” Oh, she had her big life goals that had to do with career and family and lifestyle, etc., but her small life goals were...
Layli Long Soldier is an Oglala Lakota poet, writer, and artist. In an On Being interview with Long Soldier, she said, “Writing has shown me what happens with patience.” Oh wow, I thought. That’s an understatement! I don’t consider myself a terribly patient person. I’m an activator, someone who wants things to happen now,...
I’ve been feeling lonely lately, ever since I got back from six weeks in Ireland with my husband. Not that kind of lonely. I have plenty of friends and a family that loves me and lots to do. This is a different kind of lonely, and it took me a while to put a finger...
The other day, I was meeting with one of my women’s groups. We’re all getting to know each other really well, and one woman asked a pretty deep question. Another said, “Wow. You’re asking us to be pretty vulnerable.” And then we each answered, from the heart, and with faith that we would face no...