Without You, We’re Doomed
This morning, my neighbor points to her apple tree’s blossoms and announces her worry regarding the lack of pollinators this year. Have we seen many bees and butterflies yet? Without pollinators, she won’t get fruit. No fruit? But I love my fruit. I explore my backyard and indeed find them: bees, butterflies, and moths […]
Years Later, It Returns
Today, the Italian Mama asks if I’ll join her on a particular shopping mission. She’s a trained ballerina who once danced at elite schools and in elite companies. I’ve seen pictures of her posing with one leg fully extended above her head and every inch of her body exquisitely controlled as only a true ballerina […]
How Dare She!
I notice that a tree branch is growing through my fence this morning. That little arm–what audacity!–writhes its way in and actually proceeds to grow. How dare she! That little branch will eventually take down the whole structure. As I look at this little branch, I begin to love her audacity. I’m strangely attracted […]
What This Means
It’s 84 degrees today, and everything (even me!) wakes up happy. The tulips proclaim we are fully in Spring. There’s no going back to winter. Tulips in Spring My husband then reports that the strawberry patch has her first blossoms. We are in Spring. There’s no going back to winter. I let my heart […]
The Making of a Great Person
I’m at a very special birthday party last night where my dear friend (the one who says the sign of a happy childhood is dirty children, the one who taught me to tell my children how much I want to be with them, the one who sent me double-dutch jump ropes to advance the Neighborhood […]
An Impossible Path
I’m driving on Route 76 in Somerset County, and as I approach the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, I have the strangest feeling that such things cannot be. A tunnel through the mountain? How? The mountain rises up to block the path, and yet I’m sucked into the tiny black hole in its side. I’m driving in […]
When Your Love Language is Obscure (but Amazing) Christian Books
This week, my friend tells me I must read Francois Fenelon’s collection of letters during the time he was spiritual advisor to Louis the XIV. This collection, entitled simply Let Go, dates back to 1689. “You know my love language is Christian books,” I tell her. I hold the book in my hand and remember […]
The Thing for Today
I’m beginning to think that if a day goes by and I haven’t stopped to observe at least one truly beautiful thing, then something’s wrong. The day hasn’t been juiced yet; I haven’t done the work of extraction to find the thing. So I’m driving home down the same old road, and out of the […]
Returning with Treasure
Today on the walk to school, my friend suggests that we are all on a Hero’s Journey, and sometimes we stop at Step 2: The Refusal of our Calling. His wife pulls up the steps of the Hero’s Journey on her phone and recites the narrative pattern for us. This pattern, noted most famously by […]
Coming into Your Own: When the Italian Mama Tried My Chicken-n-Dumplings
Today, I call the Italian Mama to tell her I will be delivering her Chicken-n-Dumplings in the afternoon. I promised her family (especially her sons) that I would make them. Ever since I let the Italian Mama and her sons sample my recipe a month ago, I’ve been beaming with pride about her response. She […]