When “Plan A” Fails
Green Tomatoes Before the Frost We hear that a frost will come this week. It seems so tragic: dozens of beautiful tomatoes that never had a chance to ripen. But all is not lost. As novice gardeners, we take advice from a master gardener in our community. She tells us to harvest our green tomatoes, […]
What You Bring to the Fight
A great big dog and his owner arrive at our front door yesterday. This neighbor has stopped by to visit on the front porch, but while fumbling with his gloves, he lets the leash loose. The enormous dog squeezes past the screen door and rockets into the house. Our cat, Louie, sits in the foyer, […]
A Little Secret
A student announces that she’s no longer drinking. At the beginning of the semester, she tells us she’s known for partying, but today, she wants to stop it all. We cheer for her. Suddenly, the class feels like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I don’t mind at all. I tell her that my husband and I […]
5 Blisters
I count 5 blisters on my hands. I touch each one. A blister is the fluid that collects to protect the skin underneath from damage. With that bubble of liquid in place, the layer below stays safe and can heal from whatever assaults it. The blister is the skin’s defense mechanism. These particular blisters arise […]
The Not To-Do List
Instead of a to-do list, a friend of mine suggests a not to-do list. I’m at a conference all day teaching about writing personal mission statements, and I present the idea of a not to-do list, as in “what I am not going to do today in order to do what’s best and more aligned […]
One Way to Say “I Love You”
A few days ago, my husband and I seriously start brainstorming ideas for our Halloween costumes. There’s a lot at stake: we have a party to attend and neighborhood children to impress. I have this genius idea–one I actually stole from a student– that my husband could dress as Colonel Mustard and I’d go […]
The Beauty Always There
Autumn alights on my kitchen table as neighborhood children unload this gift of leaves. We configure the apparatus: one leaf, a white sheet of paper, and a broken crayon stripped of its packaging. Leaf Rubbings on an Autumn Evening We smooth the crayon against the clean page. As if by magic, the unseen leaf appears. […]
Can I Tuck You In?
Last night, a dear friend of mine agrees to visit my children around bedtime to read stories and “tuck them in.” It’s so whimsical and comforting: a loving friend stops by, has a bedtime snack with you, reads you your favorite book, says bedtime prayers, and leaves you sleeping soundly by 8:30 PM. That’s a […]
Things That Can Wait
My sister texts me this morning to tell me to go to the gym. I tell her I have too much to do. Later, I call and she doesn’t say, “Hello.” Instead, she says, “I hope you’re calling me from the treadmill.” My sister knows me. She knows that going to the gym makes me […]
The Bored Student Speaks!
My I-Really-Just-Don’t-Care student hands me some of his writing to read. He’s typed eight single-spaced pages. I didn’t assign him this project. He wrote something on his own, and he wants to meet today to talk about writing. He gives me permission to tell you this: It’s a personal memoir about watching his brother leave […]