If it weren’t for his compassionate nature, it would be a tad intimidating to watch a series about the life of Jesus with my husband. There we sit next to one another — the two of us, and also the huge difference between his knowledge of the Bible and mine, almost a third individual. If the couch were a see-saw, I’d be way up there, dangling my legs, and he’d be solidly grounded — or wait, maybe the other way … Read More
While I’m tempted to embark upon a continuation of my last topic – about the cleansing of our basement as an Advent activity (because there have been exciting new developments there) – I will refrain and move on to something new. What I’ll serve up today, firmly in the realm of contrasts, has to do with how, with the passage of time, a certain kind of thing can become an almost completely different kind of thing. OK, that’s just bland. … Read More
It’s a couple of days past Father’s Day now — perfect for this post, because it’s about how time can bend. Didn’t Einstein do a little work on this, pulling in the whole universe in fact? I approximate, but I hope you’ll give me “close enough.” When it comes to understanding Einstein, we all could use a little give. Being no genius, I will nonetheless posit that these two things are not really opposites: having a father who is physically … Read More
“Making plans for after lockdown?” a friend asked recently, in an email. For a moment, I froze, in a kind of panic. That was so completely not what I was doing. Suddenly I imagined that I was woefully out of synch with everyone else. It was akin to that old feeling that occasionally swept over me (maybe you too) in high school and college: probably I was missing some kind of ultra-fun event, not in the coolest place at the … Read More
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
It’s definitely not just another ho-hum weekend, because the amazing discovery of the Trappist-1 cluster — a bunch of new planets circling a kind of sun, out there just a hop, skip and a jump away from us– means we are now on alert for possible news of life elsewhere in the universe. This is big, possibly mind-blowing. Depending on how the story unfolds, we could have some major adjusting to do about our human identity, our various belief systems, … Read More
This is a perfect time of year both to give unto others and to level with yourself. What will you choose to do, and what will you choose not to do? Sure, Advent is about anticipation and preparation, but not necessarily decoration and trepidation. (I know, those two words do not often keep company together, but they definitely can.) For me, and I suspect for many of us, the trick is to enjoy wholeheartedly much of what is swirling all … Read More
Déjà vu experiences, much like birds, come in a variety of plumages. They swoop in unexpectedly, often leaving you stunned, or smiling, or maybe wondering about the trajectory of your own life. There are those magical time travel moments when— whoosh—you’re suddenly back in a previous day, and then, amazingly, even what happens after you make the connection is exactly like what it once was, down to the slightest gesture or expression, as if the same movie is playing. Your … Read More
As Advent begins, leading to the season of Peace and Joy, I figure it’s as good a time as any to shake things up a bit. Before Thanksgiving, I had been considering starting yoga, but on Monday I went to a “Body Combat” class instead, and now I’m hooked. Left hook, right hook, just plain hooked. Something about having the kids here for a spell and taking in all the changes happening with each one of them—well, it just makes … Read More
Life can, it seems to me, be divided up roughly into “Getting Things Done in a Linear Fashion,” “Getting Things Done in a Circular Fashion,” “Not Getting Things Done,” “Just Going Back and Forth,” and finally “The Hell With It.” Once in a while, I’m in the first couple of camps. Much of the time, however— sometimes by choice, often not—I’m in the last three. To be more precise, it looks like I’ll be in the “Just Going Back and … Read More