Back in college, when I still thought college was the most stressful thing that could happen to me, I developed a pretty workable self-calming practice. When the tension in my shoulders knotted too tight and my heart raced down the…
There were many things I was afraid of before I left for my study abroad semester in Chile back in the fall of 1996. Amidst a whole host of rational and irrational fears, the concern that troubled me most was…
Four months ago, as Michigan was beginning our Stay-at-Home orders, and Italy was in the thick of theirs, my husband showed me a YouTube video clip that has stuck with me. My husband has pretty eclectic musical tastes, and he…
Sometimes I have a hard time knowing how to attend to the largest crisis before me because of any number of tiny crises holding my hand, whispering in my ear, and pulling at my heart’s attention. When the world so…
When the early days of May arrive all bright and tulip-y, or drizzling on the bloom laden trees, or wind swept, or coronavirus-clad, I can’t help but recognize the bold and majestic strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” as my background…
Should I really go for a walk today? Haven’t most of us been told to stay home? And, truth be told, I like to stay home. At first it felt like a kindness to me, to be told to stay…
Almost a month ago my family flew out to visit my sister and her family in Seattle, Washington. It was a short trip of just four nights and three days, but it was well worth the late nights and early…
January has trudged slowly onward, and now we tip toward the bleak mid-winter. Go ahead. Let yourself groan about it if you must. Very few people seem to adore February. Though it is our shortest month, it tends to sit…
January 1 arrives like a gift. It is no ordinary day, as January 1 beckons forth a whole year’s worth of new days. January 1 holds in its palm a full measure of eager possibility, tinted with the promising hues…
I do things with my whole heart, and I can’t even help it. It really doesn’t matter what I’m doing; I am most often fully engaged and all-in. If my sixth grader asks for help with her math homework I…
