The Only One, Again
I gaze at the window at a single tree in a crowd whose leaves alone shimmy and turn with a gust of wind. Her jazz hands make me smile, especially when I notice she’s the only one dancing. She’s caught a wind current the other trees somehow miss. I saw this as a child. I […]
Celebrating Hard Things: Starting Your Own Encouragement Group
When I was a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan, the dissertation process overwhelmed me. It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve accomplished in my life. In order to survive it, three friends of mine began what we called The Encouragement Group. The Encouragement Group met once a week in our favorite coffee […]
Jack is Not Amused
It’s a gloomy day. Rain keeps us inside. It’s muggy and slow around here. A little sun breaks through, but it’s not enough to inspire Jack. Profoundly Bored He stays on the chair and watches me clean the house. Even with one eye, he’s so expressive. And he’s not amused. Not Amused I know. I […]
Your Best Technique: A Triumph of Teaching
Today I address the crisis of needing to prepare a new syllabus for freshman composition. After so many years of teaching, I confess my excitement can wane. But I have a proven technique to restore my pluck; Parker Palmer’s famous quote, “We teach what we most need to learn,” always ricochets in my mind as […]
I Brought Back the Rainbow Hunt for Myself
When my daughters were toddlers and learning their colors, I took them on “Rainbow Hunts” in nature. We’d look for every color–red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet–and pause to acknowledge our finds. Today, they’re off with friends or involved in their own pursuits, and I find myself wanting to go on a Rainbow […]
We See it As We Choose
Today my oldest reminds me of a huge problem with scientific inquiry. She explains that if you go looking for what you think will happen, you can skew your results. She further explains that we often experience what we imagine will come about. Our own bias destroys authentic research and discovery. Our hopes bias what […]
An Extraordinary Find: The Secret Resonance Chamber
This morning, my youngest finds the shed exoskeleton of a cicada. She can hardly believe it. She’s heard the news about the seventeen year wait for such insects to emerge. She’s heard their songs–haunting, loud, and strange–across the landscape. But she’s never seen one. We examine the abandoned shell and marvel at the tiny hole […]
Till Gleaming
This morning I find myself covered in cat hair. We haven’t brushed our kitties in a while, and I remember the importance of weekly brushing. Cats shed hair. If you don’t brush them, they get hairballs in their stomachs when they groom themselves. When I bring out the cat brush, the cats run to my […]
Let Things Be
I return to my blackberries after a summer away. What I love about blackberries is that they thrive when you let them be. Nobody looks after them in the summer. They just do what they do until they ripen and nearly burst off the vine. Some assignments from God are like this. You set something […]
I Didn’t Write That Day
I forgot to blog on Monday. I seriously just forgot! I can’t believe it. I haven’t forgotten to blog in over three years of daily blogging. My sweet neighbor asks me why I didn’t blog on Monday. “I did!” I claim. “No, you didn’t!” She claims. I check. She’s right. Well, I was driving across […]