Short? Or long?

Once upon a Christmas-time a couple of years ago, we had this brilliant idea of giving gifts of travel to a couple of our kids and their wives. The idea was, ‘let’s go somewhere together – some place fun, just the four of us – and spend time together in a place we haven’t yet … Continue reading →

Final Things

Fifteen months ago (January 12, 2021) I sat down to write a letter to man who had entered into a final phase of his earthly life. On April 14, 2022, he at last departed from this world to enter into Glory. Tomorrow, I will whisper a final good-bye to him as we visit with the … Continue reading →

“Casting Off”

During the summer of 2019 I said ‘yes’ to a part-time teaching opportunity for the 2019-20 school year. Last week, I held my last zoom classes, shared my last words with my students, one of which was a reminder to submit their final essay exams at the scheduled time, and then, just like that, without … Continue reading →

Recipes

You know how certain words appear to be so strange and meaningless the longer you look at them? ‘Recipe’ is one such word. How are we supposed to figure it out phonetically? What inkling can we glean that it’s a three-syllable word, for cryin’ out loud? And is the ‘re-‘ a prefix? Can you cipe … Continue reading →

Losing Artfully

In these days of COVID-19 quarantine/isolation/stay at home orders around my community, my state, my country — and in all likelihood in yours, it surely feels as though we’ve lost more than we can bear. So many lost school days. So many lost dollars. So many lost jobs. So many lost loved ones. The losses … Continue reading →

When You Got Nothin’

Since my hubby started working from home due to the COVID-19 crisis, I’m struggling a bit to know what day it is — every morning feels a little bit like the start of a weekend, but just how many Saturdays can one week have?? Today actually is a Saturday, and it’s been weirdly un-Saturday-like. I … Continue reading →

Ambiguities

“I wrote a poem on the mist / And a woman asked me what I meant by it.” A few days ago we awakened to a lovely fog, leaving only outlines of trees for us to see, along with the assurance that the sun was shining above the clouds. Daylight, shrouded in mystery and silence. … Continue reading →

Postings

Day 9 of ‘Stay at Home Order.’ Week 3 (sure, there’s a Spring Break week in there) of meeting with my students only virtually. Day elevendy frillion of wondering how long we can be shut down and survive it. And maybe it’s just my observation and not actually true, but does it seem also to … Continue reading →

On Being. And Meaning.

Sure, Hamlet asked it better than most: “To be, or not to be…” — you know the one. It’s the question on all our minds — what is the point of all this — this living that we’re doing?! Always one to invite us to ponder life’s biggest, most pressingly urgent questions, Shakespeare put unforgettable … Continue reading →

Teachers & Appreciation

An abundance of social media posts alerted me that this is the week set aside for us to intentionally appreciate teachers. Nurses too. (Don’t send any nurse you know a deck of cards, for the love!) Gift cards, breakfasts, treats, notes — some sort of acknowledgement that says, ‘hey. thanks for all you do.’ If … Continue reading →