Or, On the Research of Choosing You. Neuroscientists have been doing a lot of good work for those of us who consider ourselves creative, artistic and “right-brained.” Personally, I think we are all this way! This is fantastic news. Yes, our scientist friends are discovering that the Right Brain– with its power to love, mourn,…
Category: Is Less More?
Questions of the earth and environment meet questions of the universe. And such.
Squinting at the Past
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So I’ve been home in the town where I grew up for a few days to visit my ailing Dad. I am always relieved to get here, and feel it viscerally. But at the same time, my visits are filled with the anxiety of missing someone, letting someone down, not seeing enough of who and…
In Praise of My Homeschool Homies
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I used to be one of those annoying, know-it-alls about education. “School is the only place for a child to learn what it is REALLY like out there in the world.” I’d sneer. Well, then, what happened was: I actually MET people who homeschool. I spent time around their kids. I learned more about how…
Charisma Will Get You… Somewhere
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“Lenny” walked into my classroom today with NOTHING in his hands. “Bye Lenny. Go get yours books, paper, a pen.” On a scale from 1 to 10, I adore Lenny, at like a 9.2. He is charming, funny, he pays attention. He has that “It” factor as a human being that exudes from his pores.…
Other People’s Problems
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On Everyday Charity and 9.0 Earthquakes. One day on Facebook I asked my friends: “What can I do to help you?” It was one of those days when I had some unexpected free time. I sincerely hoped that someone would ask me to make dinner for them or watch their kids or juggle their seven…
To Ask for Help, or Go It Alone
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Here’s my quandry and I’d love some feedback I feel like I work better with a partner: the home business thing is not only intimidating, it is like a labyrinth of learning. I write— that’s my main gig. But I know I can develop a business that would provide fantastic creative products that allow people…
I, Swim
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I swam the full length, freestyle, for the first time last night. I came up at the deep end to the cheers of Latoya, Paul, and Dan — my support team — at Flood Pool. On the way home, I heard Faith Middleton interviewing one of my favorite environmentalist writers, Bill McKibben. Only he wasn’t…
Stop Everything
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Betty cat sidles up Shoves her way in Lolls under my firm pressure Kneading my gut. Telling me with toenails uncut… Stop working, stop everything– Make more… Make more love.
Beautiful Details: Greenwich Locksmiths
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One of the great things about life, humanity, and America is INGEUNITY: the power of creative imagination. On “Scouting New York” I found the most amazing post about the little locksmith shop, Greenwich Locksmiths. Be sure you click through and see all the photos. I love small business like these. Shopkeepers who exude passion for…
Sexy Ballerinas & Sweaty Marky Mark
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Or, Why I Won’t Tell You that this is “A Post About BLEEPinism,” Because If I Did You Wouldn’t Read It “Why don’t more “enlightened” men talk about their role in gender and family issues?” was a question I recently posed as my Facebook status. I received two comments, neither from men. However, when I…
The Swimming Lesson
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Our town has a big indoor pool, circa 1943, that offers the world’s cheapest swimming lessons, for all ages. This is most excellent for us since we have 152 kids living at our house (Note: for those “interested parties,” who print out my blog for so-called legal reasons, please read the definition of hyperbole, as…
Brought to You by the Letter Z’
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#reverb10 is asking: Prompt: New name. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why? My answer would be easy: ZED. “Zed” is the nickname my in-laws gave me when they met me. It differentiated me from…
Future Self: Don’t Be Such a Bitch
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Dear Future Self, I hope you realize that not EVERYONE is as lucky as you are to be a highly successful author of four best-selling books. I hope you remember that even though you have EVERYTHING YOU DESIRE, that many other people still have barely what they need. I hope you know that achieving ONE…
Healing Through Ordinariness
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When I hit 40 this year, I started to feel strange. Like I didn’t understand who I was in relation to that number. It was a creeping “old and used up” feeling. But I didn’t let that hang around. At some point in our lives, we reach an age that no longer makes sense. The…
On Not Walking
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Walking is joy. I love walking like I love Ira Glass and peanut butter cups. I am surprised that since I moved back to America from London, that I have given it up. Just basically decided that even though it is one of my favorite things to do in the world, I am not even…
