because words are powerful
I found today’s delight bouncing along on the empty trailer we’d just unloaded at the campground’s campfire site. Volunteers assembled to continue the spring cleaning and preparations for another camping season. I feel a sense of peace working side-by-side others who care about the task at hand. The sun shone bright and neutralized the still-winter…
I’ve been reading Ross Gay’s The Book of (More) Delights, his second year-long exploration of the simple daily things that bring him delight in the form of a collection of what he calls, essayettes. I enjoyed reading the first book. Delighting in things is a way of life for me, so it was a beautiful…
…Going to bed early or when my body says its time—no matter what the clock says * muting the old narratives in my mind that cause me pain, sadness, and disappointment—a daily and sometimes hourly practice * cultivating this smaller, quieter life and concentrate on connection over quantity or socialized norms for how I “should”…
I’m a winter baby born on the third day of the new year. My year’s worth of gift opening is concentrated into the span of two weeks. I keep my Christmas tree up for my birthday. I let the Christmas cheer of the past few weeks spill over and transform into birthday celebration. I am…
The usher pointed her scanner at the bar code a second time. We saw the problem at the same time. The ticket I’d purchased was for the night before. I felt a moment of despair. I really wanted to attend the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s holiday concert. She pointed to the box office behind me….
Listened to podcasts when I woke too early Monthly Zoom conversation with church folk Embroidery projects – finished one and started another Cups of Melbourne Morning black tea Plants and seeds watered Weeds pulled Multiple episodes of Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan on pbs.org Pedicure with Manda with coral polish Cheesecake Blizzard from DQ…
When I lost power steering just blocks from my office, what I heard myself say was, Oh gosh, well, I better see if I can make it to the Firestone. What I did not do is panic. If you’ve followed my writing at any point in the past eight years, you know that I have…
I did not share the day’s big news during two substantive conversations I did not describe losing the power steering on my commute a few blocks from my office and the trusty Firestone location There were more important things to hear: post-surgery progress, lost rodeo bull found, balloons for a baby gone 16 years Trauma…
Snip. Snip. Snip. I am typing on my keyboard for a few hours, and can feel my nails catch on the keys in a way that distracts me. I have been a life-long nail biter. I rarely have nails long enough to get caught on anything but my teeth. I have been working at breaking…
The first time I experimented with mental photography, I was a rising senior representing my college at a church camp in Maine. These were the days of film when you wouldn’t know what you’d captured until you took the film cartridge to the grocery store film counter and waited for the envelope that contained your…
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