Breaking Down or Blowing Up in Lent
Not to be heavy or anything, but how close do you think life and death really are? Sometimes, and especially in certain seasons, like Lent right now, the difference seems to be just a whisper. The two states of being, one actually of not being, couldn’t be more opposite. And yet, looked at in a certain light, they are also right next to one another, chock-a-block, and sometimes you might even mistake one for the other. People who are grieving … Read More
Some Falls are More Comfy Than Others
It’s February 14th — about the only day in the whole year when taking a fall, or the memory of having taken one, can be considered a good thing. Why is it, anyway, that we talk about “falling in love”? The image conjures up someone keeling over into some kind of all-encompassing, mushy, welcoming substance; or maybe jumping into a pit filled with big, blue rectangles of foam, as I’ve done once or twice when I’ve taken kids to one … Read More
Proximity
Do you know how sometimes in your mind things, events, people do a kind of pile-up? They’re completely separate, in a way, but they have a habit of congealing in clumps and then you just have to say, “Huh, that must be my particular pile-up. No one else would see it this way.” And this, my friends, must be partly what makes each one of us so special. One of these mental mash-ups happened to me a few days ago, … Read More
C’mon, Lighten Up
My younger son, wise beyond his years, saw me striving to get a bunch of cards ready for the mail the other day. They weren’t the batch of New Year’s cards that we generally send — by late January. No, I was just scurrying to send out a handful of messages to about 1/100th of the people I’ve been missing, feeling the press of the clock, well aware of the deadline for getting them on their way on that particular … Read More
In Phones We Don’t Necessarily Trust
As we approach the time in the calendar when thoughts among the youngest of us turn to preparations underway up at the North Pole – and thank goodness for that — many of the rest of us are still grappling with the fact that we are a polarized society: a whole lot of us over here, and another whole lot of us over there. We are in factions, in bubbles, separated, with barely an inkling of how to come together. … Read More
Not Exactly Dancing in the Dark
I haven’t seen one of them in a while, but didn’t there used to be bumper stickers that said something like, “I found The Way?” or maybe “Jesus Is The Way”? Well, about a week ago, in the dark, I was seriously looking for The Way, but not to Jesus — to home. My husband helped me, reinforcing my appreciation of marriage as an institution. If home is sometimes described as the place “where they have to take you in” … Read More
Anniversary Day
Over the past six months of the pandemic, we’ve heard the term “Alone Together” over and over again– for good reason, too. The whole time has brought such a weird mix of elements to our lives, and we need to keep reminding ourselves that, alongside the isolation we inevitably feel when cooped up and missing people who are dear to us, we are also in a shared experience that can break down barriers and generate power, even amidst terrible loss. … Read More
Virtual Camp Takes Valiant Counselors
Camp on the computer? Come on, you gotta be kidding. The concept seems to defy the very definition of what this summer institution is all about. Without the playing outdoors, the eating in the dining hall, the jumping off the dock, the walking the paths together, the fireside singing, the sleeping in bunks— what are you left with? As you’ve probably read, many parents (mostly parents who are comfortably off) have opted out of paying for camp on the computer … Read More
Ins and Outs
“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
Who’s Got Supper for Five Tonight?
It was just plain irresponsible for me to pretend that I still had a blog during the past couple of months. But wait…it’s still here and so are you, I hope. School’s out now and, hot as it is outside, I feel as if I’m taking a cool swim even when I’m not. Relief washes over me– enough relief so that I can see one of the many Covid-19 contrasts coming clearly into focus. Rarely has there been a time … Read More