How do you know when you’re old? Is there a moment when you’re better off acknowledging this fact, or should you keep trotting along not paying much attention to where you are on the age spectrum? If you are at least approaching whatever “old” is, are you seeing more and more differences between yourself and the ever-increasing number of people who are, at least physically, “young”? In this lead-up to Thanksgiving, when many of us will be (with any luck) … Read More
“In or out?” There’s a question that’s been asked of many dogs by humans standing at doors, through the ages. During this current age, we’re asking it more commonly of both ourselves and other people, too. More often than not, and partly because summer is an ally, we can answer it with “out.” “The Great Outdoors” has never rung more true. Until we can defeat the virus, we need to at least try to de-claw it by bringing our breathing … Read More
Way back when I started this blog, almost a decade (!?!?) ago, I shared a photo of a wall painted one color and a ceiling painted another, to illustrate my interest in side-by-side contrasts, the kind that draw in the eye or the spirit. Things that melt together, merge, have their own kind of charm; but things (or plants, or animals, or people) that retain their distinct qualities while attaining an often astonishing closeness have fascinated me ever since I … Read More
I once had a college professor who, perhaps in reaction to a student who was clearly unprepared for class, leaned back in his chair and mused that he’d always yearned for the opportunity to teach a course called, “Great Books I’ve Never Read.” This is close to the way I feel about my husband’s almost-over trip to Angola. Some months ago, when this was on the horizon, we both thought it might be possible for me to accompany him on … Read More
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
Smokey Robinson, that is. One of his songs has been cruising (not, not that one) through my mind during this end-of-August, not quite end-of-summer. Outside, there’s abundance just about everywhere… And when we’re fully enjoying the abundance, we might look something like this, particularly if we’re female and happen to find ourselves in a field of lavender. But a close neighbor to abundance is often the quality of too-much-ness. Or here’s the dreary basement version of gotta-cut-back…. Abundance brings a … Read More
Feeling weighed down by anything these days? Carrying around any burdens, like a pack mule on some trail? Or maybe you’re one of the lucky ones, practically floating through your days feeling free, like a moth; or soaring hawk-like, with a mighty wingspan, confident in your ability to make a dive, a capture, when you’re ready. Probably you’re somewhere in between. When you’re in winter with no let-up, it makes a whole lot of sense to head to a museum, … Read More
Taking the time to do—to give, really — an act of kindness is a little bit like choosing the right path in the woods…and helping to light someone else’s way, too. As it happens, my husband and I are about to cross paths, domestically speaking. He’s coming to the end of a three month plus sabbatical, going back to being a bishop who is closely attuned to the well-being of clergy and churches; I’m almost done with a three month … Read More
During this month of graduating seniors, burgeoning plants, and creatures newly born, are you also coming into your own? Are you just the same self you were last year at this time, or do you notice some small but significant differences in your inner landscape? It’s a personal question, I know, and you don’t really have to answer. But I can’t emerge from a year in a Memoir Incubator without asking it, at least of myself. And then, … Read More
In the kitchen, you can usually be quite sure if something is “done” or “not yet done” or “raw.” In the rest of life, though, telling whether something is where it needs to be, at a jumping off point or place of readiness and fruition, often gets a little more complex. A bit like a cook reaching for a favorite spice, my mother had a way of latching on to particular words and using them over and over, emphatically — … Read More