Seeing an Old Story through New Eyes by Guest Blogger Katie O’Connell My mother died 34 years ago. I was 14. Nothing prepared me for the depth of that loss. In my teenaged mind I believed I was almost an adult. In truth, I was a lost child wearing an adult façade, too frightened and […]
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Loving the Ragged and the Beautiful By Guest Blogger Beverly Menninger Tonight I stand outside mom’s room as she is dying. I observe from some other place. It feels surreal. Time stands still. She is dying the way she imagined she would. Physically she reached the place she feared most. As a soul I see
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Spring officially begins in twelve days, according to the sign my snow woman holds. Her countdown is one way I mark its arrival. Crocuses at the edge of my garden are another. Purple and yellow drops of color are refreshing in the midst of a black and white Midwestern winter. Dainty and determined these bright
Egos get a bad rap. Most certainly it’s my ego that urges me to do a reading in the iconic Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. Mingling my words with legendary authors was my goal. Then I will feel like a “real author.” Thwarted attempts to read inside the bookshop leads to my “Occupy Shakespeare and
Resolutions were something I kept to myself. The 5 pounds I was going to lose by March, the money I was going to save and my pledge to work out five days a week were secretly held. Resolve was often strong in early January. By month’s end frequent snacking returned, purchases robbed the piggy bank
Yogi brand teabag tags have wonderful little sayings. I love discovering them as I drop a teabag into a waiting cup of hot water. They are cosmic communications from the great beyond — fortune cookie messages for the soul. Today at the Unfolding retreat I read one and have a different response. Maybe because hesitance in claiming
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Even though the subtitle of my book contains the phrase “Slow Down ” I have been a terrible example of this wisdom. All those boxes on my calendar look so open and the little words I type in seem possible. Celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary by spending two weeks in France was wonderful. It was
An early morning kitchen can be a cozy nest. Baked apples and bread pudding, from last night’s dessert, leave droplets of delight on every air molecule. But, shining plates and silverware, fresh from the dishwasher, show no signs of last night’s shared meal. Centuries of women cooking and feeding others walk with me as I
Securing the Chinese coin in the center of the stone, I wrap the leather cord around once and add a bead and then twelve small metal washers. Two more times around the stone and then up through the middle where I fasten it with a knot. Smooth. Cool. A talisman of comfort now nestles perfectly
Dark stillness encourages problems to expand until they fill the emptiness of night. It’s 2:32 AM. I’m tossing and turning. Twisted covers lay at my feet. Anxieties about my children, grandchildren, Don, or a friend vex me. Sunshine will dissipate some of my worries, but for now I can’t shake them. I’m concerned about a
