I am a lover of lists. I like to make them. And I like to read those that others have made. Over the last few weeks I have spent time with several different lists that offered questions for reflection on the past year. I am sharing here my response to one of these questions. What was the best book you read, show or movie you watched, or podcast you listened to? I have not yet jumped onto the podcast bandwagon,…
Last week I kept seeing an ad in my Facebook feed for a t-shirt that said, “Be real not perfect.” Each time I saw it, I thought a little bit harder and a little bit deeper about what those words were really saying. I grew up with a mother who expected perfection, perfection in everything and from everyone around her. As I child, it was in my best interest to do everything within my power to fulfill those expectations. In…
Rainy days, no matter the day of the week, can get you down…unless you have a plan B. We had hoped to go to the Dallas Arboretum today to enjoy the fall display, but a forecast of 100% chance of rain, which was 100% accurate, changed our plans. Instead, I spent the day with my grandsons indoors at their house. Most adults would agree that rainy days are a good day for an afternoon nap. Lincoln, however, has not…
In response to the school shooting in Uvalde, TX on May 24, 2022. Ninetenn elementary students and two teachers lost their lives. Unbelievable Beavers were once The size of bears, Newborns Don’t shed tears. Sunsets on Mars Are a distinctive blue And the man Walked on water. Lego is the world’s largest Producer of tires, Children grow faster In spring. Elephants are the only animals That cannot jump And the man’s command Raised his friend from the dead. It takes…
I’ve been silent here for way too many months. Not because I haven’t been thinking and writing. I have. But, I haven’t been sharing. Why? Because my parents taught me that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all. And I have nothing nice to say about much that is going in my state, the United States, or the world. Things are broken. People are broken. Governments are broken. The natural world is broken. All of…
I don’t know why I took up running during the pandemic rather than birthing and raising a sourdough starter like many others. I have never been a runner. I did gymnastics and swam in high school; in college and through graduate school I was into cycling. Once I had kids, I did nothing that resembled any kind of intentional physical activity. When I decided it was time to do something about that (last year when those kids were 28 and…
Friendship is a funny thing. The strongest bonds often form between the least likely people. I spent the last week in Illinois visiting my friend Becca. The obvious thing that we share is albinism, but that is not enough to forge the kind of friendship that causes someone to invite you into their home to hang out for a week. Becca and I both love dogs, running, and cookies. Those are the kinds of shared interests on which true friendship…
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far…
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.’’ -Thoreau I do try to be thankful for the beauty that each season offers, but I have to confess that autumn is my favorite time of year.
I made my way from Texas to Illinois with my large print copy of Walden in hand. I read both in the airport while waiting for my flight and during the two hour flight. In case you are wondering, no one made any comments suggesting that I get some glasses. ? Thoreau’s writing is so incredibly dense. After nearly every sentence I read, I found myself stopping to carefully chew and digest each word and phrase.. This makes for slow but…