I'm just gonna come out and say Christmas in this here country seems mainly about excess in just about every corner of life: lights and larger-than-life inflatable yard thingummies, unfortunate arrangements of popular Christmas carols, sad-looking folk ringing bells over red pots outside supermarkets and big box stores (do not even get me started on that … Continue reading It’s Christmas (Excess) Time: I Need Lettuce
Spirituality
A Reflection for Advent: There is only now. Right now.
I am terrible at watching hockey games and have difficulty focusing on important things like, say, hockey. Instead I see the diamond quilting in a bright red jacket in the bleachers in front of me. And the little sign bearing a message which seems important, but I bet is often ignored. And other non-hockey details (yes, it … Continue reading A Reflection for Advent: There is only now. Right now.
Traditions: Peering Through the Lens of Nostalgia
There are a couple of late November moments that fill me with so much nostalgia and sentimentality I get chills. One is hearing the strains of Tchaikovsky's Miniature Overture to The Nutcracker for the first time in the long Nut season. Don't get me wrong: I am not a fan of the ballet, nor the score, with the … Continue reading Traditions: Peering Through the Lens of Nostalgia
Rituals And Boundaries: Important Life Lessons
Yesterday I hollared to Handsome Chef Boyfriend, Hey, don't put a new stick of butter in the dish 'til I have a chance to polish it—it's looking a bit gnarly. You must be feeling better, he said. It's true, I was. For the first time in over a week I was feeling somewhat restored after the … Continue reading Rituals And Boundaries: Important Life Lessons
Heavy Burdens
That's my son in the photo at age five, in his school uniform, a kindergartener, a blank canvas, full of curiosity, and loads of energy, trusting of the people around him. Something awful happened to him a few years later when he was a fourth-grader. The fallout from that incident was bigger than his dad … Continue reading Heavy Burdens
Balance: Saturday Photo Essay
Winter stubbornly hangs on up here in these parts long after spring has sprung elsewhere. I'm getting used to it. I think a sure sign of that is worrying less about weather and lately thinking more about finding balance. Not to get all philosophical about it, but I really do try: work, play, food, exercise, … Continue reading Balance: Saturday Photo Essay
Now, if I can just…figure out…how to…work this…thing.
About a half inch of packed ice covered Vermont's Route 7A between Arlington and Bennington on Monday morning after a tricky storm last weekend began with snow and ended with rain. A half-hour commute to work stretched into roughly fifty minutes, not bad considering. I still do not understand winter road conditions in New England, … Continue reading Now, if I can just…figure out…how to…work this…thing.
Farmstand Outing, Big Questions
I had some loose change rattling around in my pocket this afternoon and precious little else. My fiscal landscape changed dramatically a couple of weeks ago--not by way of a little hiccup, but a big, loud, stinky belch. (It did not even have the decency to cover its gaping mouth.) I realized my cupboard was … Continue reading Farmstand Outing, Big Questions
Finding My Best Self
Rosh Hashanah--the Jewish New Year--began at sundown today. I am not Jewish, nor do I observe the Jewish New Year, at least not as an official adherent of the faith. But every single year I re-read this beautiful children's story, Gershon's Monster, on Rosh Hashanah. It is a universal story of redemption, and anyway this particular book … Continue reading Finding My Best Self
Tolerance 1, Extremism Zip
As some of my friends can attest, I generally eschew heated debates about politics. Or religion. Especially religion. One of my friends back in Tennessee loves her a good political debate so much that she has thrown entire debate-themed parties (usually to follow election returns), inviting lots of folks from both sides of the aisle, … Continue reading Tolerance 1, Extremism Zip
