Meaning Mondays: The Sniffles Edition

Like everybody else, when I don’t know what else to do, I seem to go in for catching colds. ~George Jean Nathan I’ve been under the weather the past few days. Nothing serious, just a vague sneezy virus that settles in the chest and leaves a general feeling of malaise in its wake. Bestowed upon … Continue reading →

Refrigerator Rights

Refrigerator Rights

Let’s start by pretending. Would that be okay? Imagine you’re at home, at the end of the day. Kicking back. Comfortably settled in, doing whatever it is you like to do. Heck, maybe you don’t even have to imagine that. Maybe you’re there right now, in fact. So let’s keep going. You’re tucked away in … Continue reading →

Meaning Mondays: The Less is More Edition

Did you ever hear the story about National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg? Back in the fall of 1994, he got tired of the grind. The endless treadmill. The pressure to produce more. So what did he do? He hightailed it back home, to the Boundary Waters area of Northern Minnesota. In that wild and beautiful … Continue reading →

The Art of Friendship

The Art of Friendship

PHONE RINGS, DOOR CHIMES, IN COMES COMPANY! Her name was Debbie. What was I, 11? Maybe 12, when I met her? Yes, that sounds about right. Her older brother was friends with my older brother, and they introduced us. And I remember that I went from not knowing Debbie to knowing Debbie in an instant. … Continue reading →

What Did You Love As a Child?

So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us. ~Gaston Bachelard WHAT DID YOU LOVE TO DO AS A CHILD? I loved to climb the big mulberry tree in the front yard I loved to steer a wagon down a steep hill I loved to do magic tricks I loved … Continue reading →

Many Lives to Live

THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER LIVES OUT THERE. I first heard this sentiment on a television show, spoken by a woman who had reinvented herself at midlife. She’d left behind a life that no longer suited her, and created one filled with zest and enthusiasm. Always on the trail of such stories of personal … Continue reading →

Meaning Mondays: The Time Edition

The good news is that creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty. ~Anne Lamott Hard to believe, but I’ve now completed three months of Meaning … Continue reading →