13 Nov 2019

Not At Convention; but Not Entirely Unconventional, Either

0

Marriages are amazing contraptions. Sometimes humming along, sometimes rattling through, occasionally soaring over; staying the same, in a way, but also ever-changing, like the clouds in an autumn sky at the end of a day. Nobody said anything about my absence last Saturday up at the annual Convention for New Hampshire Episcopalians, but still I felt some pangs about not being courtside—no, wait, I mean in the conference room—while my husband gave his address. I bet it was a really … Read More
27 Sep 2019

Three Ring Circus Time

3

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that went something like, “Elect a Clown, Get a Circus.” But really, this is not at all fair to anybody — a good friend of ours comes to mind — who is involved in the wonderful and aesthetically rich field of the circus arts. And besides, how about the rest of us who regularly feel that our lives consist of much juggling, a fair amount of running in circles, some leaping, an … Read More
19 Apr 2019

The Lawn Looks Lenten, But Easter Will Come

0

How many words do you know that have one “u” right after the other? And if you do know one, do you also know how to pronounce it? My husband, who regularly passes along interesting tidbits of knowledge to me, taught me the term “Easter Triduum” just the other day, when he was pondering the plethora of sermons he needed to present over the three days we’re in right now. Needless to say, Easter itself has come around plenty of … Read More
24 Mar 2019

Hooping for Spring

0

“There’s no Jeopardy on tonight because of March Madness,” said my disappointed husband, much more a fan of the quiz show than of the N.C.A.A. That was on Thursday. Meanwhile, I’ve been well aware of March Madness, and not just because I grew up with four older brothers. This year, the kind on TV is just a backdrop, though, to the kind simmering in me. My version might more accurately be described as Mad at March. Is April the cruelest … Read More
8 Jan 2019

I’ve Been Summoned

1

You know how you can feel how you may be just one person, but you have a bunch of different identities? For me, these would include: In my current family, the mother who tries to stay up with current playlists In the neighborhood, the woman with that big black dog At my current school, the lady who is in the classroom the other lady used to be in In my family of origin, the little sister In my tennis group, … Read More
6 Jul 2018

Ideas About God, and Plain Old Work Too

0

Just as I enter into a lovely time of not working, I see examples of work everywhere. It must be a sign that this vacation can’t last long. Since I’m not accompanying my husband to the 10-day long, give or take a few hours, Episcopal Convention in Texas, but will be partly with him in spirit, I thought it would be a good time to pull out a book by Karen Armstrong that’s been on my shelf for a while. … Read More
30 Mar 2018

Writing… Even When the Kitchen is Calling for Help

2

Trying to close in on finishing something like a first draft of my book in the next few weeks, I’m finding myself more aware than usual of the difference between writing and more quotidian matters. As he prepared to start his day the other morning, with the prospect of designing three different Easter weekend sermons on his mind, my husband said to me, “You may have noticed that the refrigerator door isn’t closing right.”     What a guy. He … Read More
15 Feb 2018

An Expansive View

0

“We were both right!” The girl I mentor, who is now a whopping 14, said this jubilantly as she got in my car a couple of weeks ago, heading to her hip-hop dance class.   I didn’t even know what she was referring to, but I loved what she said immediately. Turns out, I was right about the remaining cost of the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. But, in a way, she was too, because a few days before … Read More
16 Nov 2017

Feeling For the Trees

0

Whenever I get tired of tracking my daily ups and downs, which is often, I find it refreshing to pay closer attention to the ups and downs of trees instead. Looking around outside with more vigor takes me out of my own limelight. It works well in November, or any other month for that matter. And that surprising storm we had last month sure did a number on many of our tall, usually very sturdy neighbors. It’s disconcerting when you … Read More
25 Sep 2017

Skipping Fairbanks, Tending– maybe it’s Trending? — Home

0

A friend of mine recently brought her husband to the bus station to embark on a faraway trip. Then a friend of hers asked, “How did you feel about not going?” She replied, “I don’t know. ALASKA!’ You guessed right: that friend was actually yours truly. So I don’t really need to ask anybody else about my feelings; in truth, though, they’re a little hard to parse out. Fortunately, this remains a blog about contrasting elements lying side by side. That’s … Read More

1 2 3 4