I’ve never had a hard time apologizing. In fact, I say, “I’m sorry,” far too often. I need to locate that sweet spot between taking responsibility for my screw-ups or insensitivities and using the gesture as filler and in turn diminishing its value. There are important phrases in life that need to be used sparingly,…
I learn things about myself and my world every day I lift my head from the pillow. Every day. But when I travel I am moved in ways good and bad that elevate my journey. I’ve returned from Amsterdam and here is what I have learned. I prefer the country to the city. I used…
There is a wash behind our house. Part of it is on our property, which makes it “our wash.” That makes no sense to me because there are huge trees, cactus, and boulders. So many boulders and acres of earth. On a dry day, when the sun is shining, the wash behind our home is…
If I lived in Paris, I would never close the windows. The traffic noise below my apartment would become the soundtrack of my early mornings, my lazy afternoons, and my midnight snacks. My apartment would be old with generations of white paint, brass knobs, and creaky floors. During winter or rain, I’d make tea in…
Changing habits and challenging established expectations is stressful stuff, but this is my year. All the wrapping will be recycled or reusable, and all of my gifts will be local or handmade by small shops via Etsy. I will not purchase one gift from a big store. This year and every year after, I am doing…
I don’t think my daughter ever played dress-up. She had some gypsy stuff and leftover Halloween costume props that would surface as perfectly acceptable school accessories, but she never walked around in my heels or wanted to wear my work clothes. Now I know why. Katlyn is my oldest and today she turns twenty-three.…
I was born tomorrow. Technically, forty-five years ago tomorrow, but I’m not a stickler for details. I was born right into the lives of my parents. They were stupid in love with one another and I came into a world of cable cars, yellow, and motor oil. I tend to romanticize this time. The…
I wonder if I’ll ever run out of things to say. If the time will come when I will wake up, pour a cup of tea, and just like when my fingers strain for the last few tiles in a Scrabble bag, I’ll start running out and eventually I’ll be done. Maybe a person is…
Sometimes I don’t feel like taking a shower. It’s not that I’m smelly because that rarely happens, but there are times especially after a long weekend when a shower feels like. . . starting over, washing away the sheen of sweat from being outside or the bits of dirt still under my fingernails from planting.…
