Something From Everything
Opening up our world through language
There are nearly 500 explorable caves at Lava Beds National Monument in the U.S. On a recent visit, my family managed to see six of them. The caves are...
When you find yourself reintroduced to Resurrection
"So Jesus is kind of like a zombie?” I bite my lip a little at the unintentional irreverence and honest curiosity of my youngest child, who has his...
The season has shifted and so have I
I start the day hurried, leaving the house to walk my son to school at 8 a.m. It is one foot in front of the other, as we walk single file by the side of the...
Learning how to do it right from doing it wrong
It had been a great day. A day off of work, uneventful and filled with nothing but sunlight, a good audiobook and an extended walk with my dog. And it was a...
In these troubled times we brace for impact and hope for the best
In the old world, the winter months were littered with parties. Not huge, extravagant affairs, mind you. More like get-togethers than “events,” but...
The music of season forced merriment
It’s still snowing. It’s just after 5 a.m. and I wake to make breakfast and boil water for the day’s (first) coffee. The snow is visible only...
For many of us, grief is the ultimate cost of love
There he is, the magnificent beast. He stands watch, regal and perched upon his throne, the padded dog bed inset within our living room’s bay window. The...
Evil is not always a monster we see
The robotic clown towers above us, breathtaking and menacing. He is impossibly tall, maybe seven or even eight feet on top of his small stand. The...
Facing the challenges of Covid as an emergency room nurse
The patient in front of me tells me he has been having chest pain for the past 10 hours, a sore throat, headaches and shortness of breath for the past week....
Wrong answers only
“Five minutes, that’s all I’m asking for.” I speak the words to myself, to the air, to whatever deity or saint might be listening and...
Fire in the sky
On March 25, I was staring at the sky, and I didn’t know what I was seeing. We were staying at a remote cabin, a campfire in front of us, the gathering...
Beautiful, terrible and fragile
The hike up to Gold Creek Falls is well worn, appropriately marked, family friendly, and safe. In fact, the word hike hardly seems appropriate. The path to the...
Going 'just' beyond
We made our maiden voyage last Sunday. It was a perfect day for kayaking. Slightly overcast, not nearly as showy as the clear, blue skies and radiant sun of the...
You get to choose
“Who do you want to be?” I ask myself this, as I’m staring out the window into a sky of endless grey. It’s early morning and...
Flawed exteriors, interiors
I have been spending hours fixing a single drawer. It’s our Tupperware drawer, and it’s been broken for months. The drawer is composed of two...
February trickery
"But I thought it was spring” On our brief walk to his school, my seven year old mouths these words to me. I can hardly make them out as he’s...
Parts and the whole
“He’s your friend; he’s your friend; he’s your friend.” I repeat the phrase like a mantra. Familiar words that had lost all...
Doing it wrong
I’ve been lighting candles. This year, I’ve been observing and celebrating the Advent season. Starting on the last Sunday in November, we’ve...
Don't let despair grow
It was dusk, and I had forgotten where I was. Not literally, of course. I was on my way to pick up my son from school, and having passed through the low...
Kiss the Earth with your feet
This morning, I’m in pain. It’s not terrible at the moment, but it’s right there (there being an ever-moving target along the nerve pathway of...