Magical Memoir Moments
The Red, Red Rose of Memory: A Surprise Update
This rose is 48 years old. When it dropped from my shoulder in the dark, my date promised to come back the next morning and look for it. He found it along the path we walked on College Avenue. Why do I still have this rose? Because my “date” became my husband. And his trip…
An Old Tree Growing Stronger: The Thrill of Discovering My Younger Self
Walking across campus with my college sweetheart brings back many memories. Outside the chapel, a tree stopped my in my tracks. “This is the one!” I exclaimed. I recognized the branches, remembered climbing into them as a college senior. I rushed home to look at the yearbook picture again. Do you see what I see?…
Do You Have a Landscape of Love? A Walk Down Memory Lane
This is Northlawn, my college dorm, 1966-1969. I fell in love with Stuart in the spring of 1967. He was a grand senior. I was a lowly “frosh.” Stuart pinned a red rose corsage on my lime green Spring Banquest dress while I stood on the porch of that dorm. Now, after 45 years of…
Seven Lessons from My Lenten Sabbatical
I expected that a Lenten Fast would give me a time to rest. I craved a less active, more contemplative, life. Did I get it? Well, yes. What improved? Exercise. At least an hour/day of stretching, weights, walking, yoga, and even a little jogging. I feel stronger and leaner, especially when I wear Spandex biking…
Entering Lent and Leaving Social Media Behind: Welcoming a More Passive Life
What do you get when you cross Lent with Sabbath? I’m about to find out. The last four years of moving to Virginia, living in Brooklyn as a “granny nanny,” writing a book, and traveling, have been wonderful. You might call this period of time The Active Life. This style of living has been a…
Be a Namer! How Madeleine L'Engle Named My Vocation
Every writer hopes to find words that resonate in other lives. And every reader chooses favorite writers, partly based on their proven power to penetrate the veil of death through language. Madeleine L’Engle plays such a role in my life. Even though she died in 2007, she lives in my memory through her visits to…
The Snowstorm that Wasn't: Legendary Busts and Blizzards
Yesterday the internets were alive with jokes about the Great Storm Bust of 2015. For those who lived in NYC, especially, a huge gap emerged between the hyped predictions (“historic storm coming — two to three feet!) and the actual snowfall of between 1.5 and 10 inches in the greater NYC area. The poor politicians…
Pittsburgh and Propelle: Where Fun and Family Meet
I came to Pittsburgh this week for two reasons: to spend some good face-to-face time with my daughter Kate and to get some help with my 2015 planning. Yesterday was a “work” day for my four-day visit. We launched the work day at Whole Foods and then returned to the “sunny urban” AirBnB unit on…
A Week in Sarasota: The Bittersweet Disruption of Cars
As you read these words, I am heading back north from Sarasota, Florida. I leave behind the palm trees, Gulf breezes, white sands, delicious fresh sea food, key lime pie, beach sunrises and sunsets, — and some wonderful surprises! Two of the surprises had to do with cars. Just last week I described my…
Plan More, Plan Less: Continuing the Search for Simplicity and Legacy By Reviewing 2014 and Sharing Goals for 2015
Last year at this time, I had a plan for 2014. I even wrote about it. I heard back from many readers about my plan to CONNECT (my word for the year) and to continue the search for simplicity and legacy by creating goals centered on my mission: to prepare for the hour of my…