seeing and seen
In August we traveled to Pennsylvania to meet our new niece, Naomi Renee. I cannot imagine a happier little being. And why not? She was… Read More »seeing and seen
In August we traveled to Pennsylvania to meet our new niece, Naomi Renee. I cannot imagine a happier little being. And why not? She was… Read More »seeing and seen
A reflection on Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem: This press of time We set the pace. But this press of time — take it as a… Read More »touch the holy
A week ago I lay flat on the floor. My back had gone out and my chiropractor appointment was several hours away. What did I… Read More »throwing rocks
I walk through the dizzying array of autumn splendor and I feel a lump in my throat. It’s a small fist of anxiety, stubbornly wedged… Read More »autumn anxiety
Today I looked back over the past five years, and I wrote down two versions of each year. For example, this is what I was… Read More »the stories I tell
The time of the Queen Anne’s lace is over. Summer is ending fast. Riding my bike, I watch the leaves begin to change. A single… Read More »flashes of color
Let’s say my time is fabric. Sometimes I am the scarf draped over the small altar where I sit for centering prayer. The scarf is… Read More »fabric of my days
Who are you? How is it you live within me and I within you, and still I am flummoxed by you? My heart’s cry is… Read More »seashore prayer
In the dream, Bigfoot is skulking through a cave, and the Woman is trying to stop him from getting out. She is old and clever… Read More »Bigfoot and the Woman
Gracious God, please tell me again that I do not have to be Great. Tell me that breathing my way through the day is a… Read More »Monday morning prayer
Late on a Saturday morning I take my mother’s hair between my fingers and begin to braid. Mom doesn’t like it when hair falls into… Read More »braiding my mother’s hair
Moving into David’s parents’ house was a no-brainer. We’d save on rent, have an easy commute to River Valley (where we’re both happily teaching now), and do Mark and… Read More »new home
Let me tell you how Gus the cat died. I promise later I will tell you how he lived. Our fifteen-year-old cat had been losing… Read More »a good death
I am standing in the doorway when I read Tony Hoagland’s poem. David and our niece and nephew are playing with toy cars and trucks and planes,… Read More »thank you, Tony Hoagland
The day I heard of Kim’s passing, I rode my bike to the beach and let the wind chill the tears on my cheeks. The… Read More »the kindness of Kim
September turns my heart to school. Not just the school where I teach now, but all the schools I’ve taught in and all the schools… Read More »back-to-transformation
In May of 2013, I unwittingly lost a glove from my bike basket on my ride to yoga class. When I discovered my loss, I… Read More »restoration: part one
One year ago, on a warm July morning, I woke up incredibly early to walk the beach. A few hours later I arrived in Rowley, Massachusetts, where… Read More »first year
A year ago a group of beloved friends spirited me away for a lakeside bachelorette weekend. Food, drink, sublime surroundings, and dancing in the kitchen . .… Read More »the duck thief
I have an hour till David comes home with our niece and nephew. An hour to clean up from lunch and water the plants and type the emails… Read More »another (brief) lesson in surrender
The luminous Catherine Hawkins was one of my husband David’s childhood friends. Catherine and I became close in the spring of 2012, when I sweet-talked… Read More »my hands are dying
When I get home from the airport, I’m hungry. I make a piece of toast and slather it with coconut oil, the way Mama does… Read More »on mothers, hungers, and toast
Vespa came to me in my dreams last night, wanting a walk. She wagged her tail and moaned her emphatic morning song, and off we… Read More »walk, linger, love
Stuart the duck perched atop the valentine David made. I walked into the kitchen this morning to find all three of them (Stuart, the valentine,… Read More »stay in tune (and other love advice from children)
Before I tell you about the gift I gave Laura, I should tell you about the gifts Laura gave me. A hug each time I… Read More »space for sadness
High time I fess up: my plan for the year failed. I came here with the dream of investing time in my writing: submitting essays,… Read More »conditions for joy
It’s the second morning of December. True to form, I started a Thanksgiving newsletter before Thanksgiving but didn’t finish it in time. I’ve cherished grand… Read More »2013 Thanksgiving newsletter
My friend Ralph Eckhardt sent this picture the other day. He wrote, “I had just been thinking about your latest Breathe Deep and praying for… Read More »tree roots and laundry
It’s a rainy morning in Wichita. Most of the colored leaves in the courtyard below our apartment still cling to their branches. The flags whip… Read More »Wichitastic
Waking up in the morning feels like the hardest thing I’ve ever done; maybe the hardest thing anybody has ever done. I might always feel… Read More »groundlessness and tea
It started July 26th at 11:30 p.m. on I-40, 3.1 miles from our exit in Brownsville, Tennessee. We were planning what we’d do when we… Read More »while waiting
So I’ve been teaching this yoga class. My beloved friend Jennie bequeathed it to me shortly after I met her, which was shortly after we… Read More »Hafiz, hula, and surrender
Ben, Joy, Ally and Jack will be here in less than three hours, but I’m sitting down in my untidy bedroom to write a blog… Read More »just so
Dear Quentin, Happy August! I miss your songs and stories. Remember how we used to find luminous, common things on the playground at recess? I… Read More »dear Quentin
I woke early Sunday morning, wearied by the ludicrous night visions only a bride-to-be must endure. A shower rinsed off the outermost layer of fretfulness.… Read More »the Sun and the shower
Weddings mean flowers, right? I’m sure most summer brides have already ordered their bouquets, but that item is still languishing on my to-do list. My… Read More »all the colors
Tuesday morning I found a dead field mouse. It was in the shed where I keep my bike. My breath caught on the sharp edge… Read More »something to bury
Driving home from the Grub Street conference last Sunday, I worked my camera with my right hand and the steering wheel with my left. The… Read More »70 miles per hour
Last Monday morning I planned to write about Vespa the dog. While my friends the Worsfolds take their customary April trip, I inhabit their home… Read More »the Monday after
Looking back, you’ll want to be able to say that you walked in all kinds of weather. You’ll want to know that you caught the… Read More »looking back
Blessed be the first bite of birthday cake. Hallowed be that moment, long before the gears of memory began to turn, when I learned that… Read More »in praise of all things sweet
On my walk to the beach I snap pictures of other people’s yards. Winter and spring coexist right now, and for all my talk… Read More »the momentous in-between
After the show, bouquets took over the apartment, preening above my life’s neglected minutia. Delphinium trumpeted above the half-written birthday cards and half-read letters; gerbera… Read More »short trip to the compost bucket
Driving to Suzanne’s for Book Club took forty-five minutes longer than it should have. I suppose rush hour is as good a time as any… Read More »books were never the point
On the train home to Boston yesterday I gazed out the window at the new fallen snow. Celebrating my birthday with my family in Philadelphia… Read More »new and not-so-new
Lately my heart has felt near to splitting its seams. It’s partly because this is my first Christmas far from my family. It’s also the… Read More »if this isn’t nice, i don’t know what is
The blog entry I planned to write today was about my lost earring, the silver flying pig earring that disappeared while we were in Pennsylvania… Read More »the blog entry I planned to write
The month of November was shrouded in misery. Did teaching feel impossible because I was sick all month or was I sick all month because… Read More »in pain’s classroom
Okay, sulky self. You woke up still sick, but you might as well get out of bed. Put on your sneakers and your hat. The… Read More »profusion
This weekend I visited my family in Pennsylvania. I went down to see a CD release concert by Constant Recourse, Ben and Jess’s band. I… Read More »a lesson from Lydia