The plane sat stationary at the gate, all but a few passengers boarded and in their seats. It was an evening flight that came at the end of a long day, and the air was heavy with annoyance, with exhaustion, with the frustration that we still weren’t on our way that so often accompanies travel … Continue reading "On Airplanes and Crying Babies"
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On Wildfires and Cabinet Doors
We live in the forested foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, a vibrantly beautiful area full of towering pines and oaks and cedars. I love where we live; it means access to mountain lakes and shaded walking trails and easy backpacking trips in the summer. It means being able to ski and snowshoe and sled … Continue reading "On Wildfires and Cabinet Doors"
Read MoreBlackberries
“I love the way the blackberry bushes smell this time of year,” he said to me recently. I, having grown up in the high desert, wasn’t sure what he meant, and so I asked for clarification. He laughed, a short chuckle. “Huh. I don’t know. They smell like ripe blackberries.” * * * * * … Continue reading "Blackberries"
Read MoreA Broken Place
The world is a broken place. We need not look far to find evidence of this fact; it confronts us every day in our frailty, in our humanity, in the ways our own relationships falter and our own efforts fall short. Still, there are weeks when mankind’s desperate need for God seems to blazon itself … Continue reading "A Broken Place"
Read MoreOn Having it All
Someone wise once told me that middle age is really just the process of finishing what you started in your twenties and thirties. Opportunities come when you are young, he said, and your options seem unlimited. Every time you choose one thing, however, you’re saying no to all of the other things that might take … Continue reading "On Having it All"
Read MoreOn Housecleaning and Rocking a Baby and Hospitality
. My grandma – my dad’s mom – used to recite poetry to us. This statement probably gives you a false impression, maybe brings to mind an image of my cousins and me gathered at her feet as she shared the lyric wonder of Yeats or Whitman or Dickinson with us, so I will dispel … Continue reading "On Housecleaning and Rocking a Baby and Hospitality"
Read MoreOne Year Ago Yesterday
One year ago yesterday, I sat in a courtroom, my fists clenched around my pen, or Jonathan’s hand, or the table in front of me – anything to give me a hold on the world, anything to feel grounded – and listened as a teenage boy told brazen lies and a teenage girl talked herself … Continue reading "One Year Ago Yesterday"
Read MoreDo Unto Others
The Ergo is her happy place! Some time back, I made the number one biggest mistake a parent can make in today’s digital age: I had a question regarding a particular aspect of child care, so I Googled it. Specifically, I was concerned about how much time Katie was spending in the Ergo – morning … Continue reading "Do Unto Others"
Read MoreTomorrow Can Wait
This past weekend, we spent a good deal of time with several young families, and I had the opportunity to see veteran parents – mamas of four or five kids – in action. As I cradled my own sleeping infant against my chest, I watched in awe as they handled sibling spats and tired kids … Continue reading "Tomorrow Can Wait"
Read MoreUnexpected Grace
These early days of Katie’s life outside the womb have been days of rest, of peace, of joy. No pain or sorrow or stress, just the quiet and natural transition to being a family of three once again, the settling into this routine, this new normal. This is all unexpected, really. I did not anticipate … Continue reading "Unexpected Grace"
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