Category: Writing

This is not content.

A Small Stone Late

I agreed with myself that I would write a small stone for Fiona and Kaspa on their wedding day, which was June 18. What with the whirlwhind of (fill in list of excuses here), the entire weekend disappeared somewhere. I didn’t realize that I’d even forgotten until today, driving, I heard Mary Chapin Carpenter singing “Late For…

What Are My Super Powers?

It’s a question I ask myself everyday, really. I wanna know what my superpowers are! Mind Melding? No thanks! Too much going on up there as it is. Invisibility? Could I deflect that power onto others at times? Levitation would be super-cool though I am not sure how useful. What does one do once you…

What Can You Do in 10 Minutes?

What can you get done in 10 Minutes? Right now, my kids are brushing teeth and puttering about in the last few minutes before school, I am stealing away (aside really… they are right behind me!) to post here. So many times we say “I don’t have time!” Yet what happens when we make a…

I Choose Peace

Even though I am about halfway through my natural life, I still have a hard time finding meaning in Memorial Day. There are all sorts of rituals I participate in on this weekend: parade, barbeques, packing away the winter clothes, getting the yard ready for summer. But those are colloquial. I know Memorial Day is…

More Bon-Bons Please.

Fine, Matt. This is posted because you told me to. I am about to tell you something really gross that’s going to make you puke, so get the bucket. I don’t have to work at all if I don’t want to. (Go ahead. Heave away. I’ll wait while you blow your nose.) Back? Feeling better?…

One Great Blog

From my “For Writers, By Writers” Series I bow deeply to pro-bloggers who keep the art of blogging closest to its journaling roots. My favorite pro-blogger is the erasible “Pioneer Woman,” Ree Drummond. Here are the five reasons why “Pioneer Woman” swallows entire mornings. 1. Personal. It’s the way that blogs are intended. Ree slathers…

The Day, Stripped Down

If you ask this question, I answer: Wake up, Kiss cheeks, Move sheets up to pillows Move aside blinds. (Daylight must have its way). Eat food. Water from a tap. Frozen bagels scorched In that metal box. Spread plates around the Craigslist table. Brush crumbs from cheeks. Get dressed. Move the hampers to move The…

Becoming Absorbent

I haven’t been posting as frequently lately. I don’t consider this writer’s block, though I once did. This is because I have been thinking. A Little Story Once I sign up for a pottery class. My friend, Rita, forced me. She berated me until I went. Fine, I said. I am not writing anyway. Might…

“Father Joe”: Not Funny, But Wonderful

I listen to The Moth podcast because it almost never fails to make my whole spirit roil with tittering champagne bubbles of hilarity. I don’t guffaw out loud, mind you. It’s just that frothy happiness that fills me up — not unlike the pool scene in Peter Sellers’ classic, The Party. Today, I listened to…

Seven Years Since Kansas City

Colin and I met when we both lived in Kansas City. This June we will have lived away from Kansas City for 7 years. We left because we felt the call of life all its opportunities. We wanted to launch our life on a raft of experience we could build together. On Understanding Risk I…

How To Write Around It

Yesterday in class, my student Mike had clearly lost faith. I didn’t know why. But I could see that he was lost. I had asked the entire class to write for a page in response to the question: “Who are you in a group?” followed by “What do you fear about working in  groups?” They…

On Home and Horizons

At least three times since I have been back to visit my parents, I have thought: “It’s nice to be home.” Then I remembered that I haven’t lived here since 20 years, half my life. Home comes when I feel my heart Drop its weight in relief At the sight of flat land running Forever…

I’m Not Writing from the Heart

I just stopped by this blog by one of my favorite tweeps, @ArtemisRetreats, and I realized I feel like a fake. That’s right, I am a big, neverending puff of hot air. My blog is supposed to be this place where I can just write from the center of me, where I can change and…

Cassandra Kubinski: Literally, Mindblowing

To further remind me of the random wonderfulness of the universe, I ended up last night at a live “coffeehouse” performance of Cassandra Kubinski, a singer-songwriter I had never heard of previously. Kubinski performed in the initimate and completed unplugged space of The Depot as part of the Milford Fine Arts Council’s 2011 Performance Coffeehouse.…

In Praise of My Homeschool Homies

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…