Magical Memoir Moments
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…
Eves-dropping: A Good Way to End 2014
I created a new word today: “eves-dropping.” Meaning? To prepare a blog post on the eve of a holiday and then drop it on your readers. Since Christmas and New Years this year fall on Thursdays, and this blog goes live regularly on Wednesdays, you get eves-drops. As a way of celebrating the year-end of…
Christmas Eve: In the Bleak Midwinter
It’s a very quiet Christmas Eve at our house. Fog covers the mountains. We didn’t decorate a tree. No sound of children’s voices. Quiet. Our family had festive days together in November and will have more this weekend. Tomorrow there will be brunch in the home of friends. But today it’s just us. And time….
Do You Say, "Have a Nice Day"? If Not, Why Not?
When you part from someone, do you have a favorite farewell blessing to utter? Other languages, French, German, and Spanish, for example, have much more graceful words than the English “Good-Bye” or “So long!” Witness this song written for English speakers about a famous multi-lingual Austrian family: In America, in the decade that followed The…
A Good Day is a Gutsy Day: How You Can Win a Free Book or Download a Bargain
It’s a good day today. In no spectacular way. It’s good just by waking up, alive, in a “warm” house (I’m grateful for the afghan made by my mother-in-law and a prayer shawl give to me by Mennonite women this fall). Then there was coffee, and breakfast with Stuart, who made the steel-cut oats. Lots…
Recovering Joy in A Good Day: The Woman in the Photograph
What if the only clue you had to your mother’s past was a photo taken before you were born — when she was young, carefree, and beautiful? What if it looked like this:How would you feel, upon waking up in the morning, if the day stretched out before you had no clear architecture from the…