How To Remember

I was standing outside on my lunch break when a message appeared from a long ago friend. She had a question for me. Could I call? I was intrigued, a mystery! I pressed her number. “Well, hellllooo Megan,” she said in her familiar deep voice. She always greeted me that way - back when we’d …

Reflections from Outside School

I learned that weather offers an opportunity to let go of control. It forces us to take advantage of what it offers in the moment.

A Happy Ending for My Old Drapes

You know that scene in the Sound of Music where Julie Andrews (Maria) sews up clothes from old curtains and, within a few short hours, all seven children have play clothes? It’s always bugged me.  Sewing takes time. Who was watching the kids when Julie was measuring, drawing a pattern, cutting fabric, and fashioning necklines …

I’m in Phase One of Getting Back into My Jeans

I’m in phase one of getting back into my jeans. This means I can wear them for about fifteen minutes before getting in a bad mood about the way they have gotten tight in my upper thigh area. Which starts me thinking about whether or not all that sourdough bread was worth it. It felt …

The Aftermath of Giving Up Sugar: Trying to Stay on Course When my Kids Bring Home an Ice Cream Maker

It took me over thirty years to give up sugar. They were long decades of trying, failing, and trying again. Why did I even attempt such a feat? I explain it here, in The Unexpected Thing That Happened When I Gave Up Sugar. Of course, it was helpful, when I finally succeeded, that most of …

The Secret Fuel of Creative Pursuits

My newest sewing machine, a gift from my mother, is proof of her enduring optimism. It is a replacement for the one she gave me twenty years ago that I somehow got stuck in reverse on one of the only projects I used it for -- a few seams on hand towels. And I actually …

When Life Goes on Hold: Zen Ways to Thrive in a Pandemic

This pandemic reminds me of the aftermath of bringing home a new baby. How life goes on hold. Right away, there is that same hunkering down feeling, that need to hone in, make things small and safe in order to deal with a much bigger loss of control. (I’m not alone; when my now grown …

My Reckoning with Art

  “Draw something from your life,” I told the students. “A place where you enjoy spending time, a place you want to remember.” I intended to stay hopeful amidst their slump into hoodies, the yawns and whispers. It takes a certain type of core strength that has nothing to do with sit-ups when substitute teaching. …

When My Non-Essential Skill Became the Most Essential Thing of All

A couple weeks ago, right before the pandemic restrictions took hold, I stood in the bread aisle of our local grocery store and was surprised by the fact that the bread shelves were empty. No stacks of English muffins, potato bread, hot dog rolls. No stone ground wheat, rye or spelt. I’d strolled down the …

It’s Just Material: Writing as a Coping Strategy

  A decade ago, when I was in my son’s room folding laundry, he told me about an experience he was having on a school sport’s team. The exact details don’t matter – all kids deal with some sort of challenge in the middle school years. But if I had to name this one it …