EVENT: Making Space — Rituals of Releasing Stuff
Clearing out a closet or a home can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re dealing with childhood treasures, ancestral heirlooms, or ordinary household items, the real dilemma at the heart of the process is: “How do I know what to keep and what to move along?” This question is deeper than it [...]
Advice to Myself at the Start of 2023
Written in response to a writing prompt from the always amazing Jena Schwartz. Look out the window. Get to know the river’s waves and the flow, the barges and debris that float by. Notice how it curves, snaking to the east. Observe the birds gliding by. Hawks and vultures, crows, [...]
Obituary Writing Brings Healing
Growing up, I never thought of obituary writing as healing. They were terse blocks of text that my parents perused each morning over coffee. Their purpose was to announce the death and share funeral arrangements. In my journalism training, I learned that junior reporters were often assigned advance obit writing [...]
Celebrate Spring: Easter Egg Tree
I got the idea to celebrate spring with an Easter egg tree from my across the street neighbor, who is German and moved here with her husband and son due to employment with a major corporation. Though we had spoken outside on the street numerous times, I first crossed the [...]
Ritual for Earth Day
On the eve of Earth Day, Joe and I seized the coincidence of lovely weather and an unscheduled evening to enjoy a walking ritual at a park near our house. In a sort of mini-pilgrimage, at points along the way we read aloud blessings for each of the four elements. [...]
A Brief Burst of Beauty
In the spring season of new life, the natural world teaches about resurrection. Visiting Washington DC this week for my first-ever Cherry Blossom Festival, I learned the Japanese word hanami, which literally means “to view flowers” but usually refers to the viewing of cherry blossoms. For more than 1000 years, [...]
Ode to Trees
The soaring heights, elegant arches, and vast open spaces of Gothic cathedrals invite awe. As a college student studying abroad three decades ago, I wandered several times through Notre Dame in Paris, gazing upward and all around, amazed at the feats of engineering that produced such a worship space. Now [...]
Labyrinth Love
In his welcome to new parents last week, the president of St. Olaf College noted that no new or renovated buildings are opening this year but a labyrinth had been installed next to the chapel, which immediately piqued my interest. I have long loved labyrinths. That instant I determined to [...]
No Minor Occasion
Our third and youngest child, Christian, is 18 years old today. Wow! Now in my bio I can state with total accuracy that I have three young adult children. I purchased the plastic “Happy Birthday” banner shown here on our oldest’s first birthday, launching a family tradition. Last night as [...]
Heirloom
Arriving in St. Paul last week, I drove directly to the James J. Hill House, a 42-room mansion built in 1891 on a bluff overlooking downtown, to visit an heirloom. I love historic sites and was quite entranced with this one when my son Michael and I toured it during [...]
Round of Life
For the ancient Celts, the year began on November 1, as the light gradually diminished to winter’s darkness. It was to them the “thinnest” period of the year, when the veil between time and eternity could be transparent. My Celtic ancestry seems to awaken in late October to relish this [...]
Montessori Lessons for Life
Our youngest just departed for his first day of senior year in high school! Early this morning, I found myself recollecting his early days of Montessori preschool, thinking fondly of his teacher, and remembered the piece below, which I wrote in May 2002 as he finished kindergarten. Re-reading it now, [...]
Day of Contentment
I'm 50 years old, today. There! I said it. I always love my birthday, but this particular milestone has been giving me pause -- it sounds so much older than I think of myself being. Because of the imminent start of school and my older kids' returns to college, we [...]
Peace of the Running Wave
Acting on a whim one dreary morning last March, I booked four nights at a bed-and-breakfast in Saugatuck, MI, just for Joe and me, our first-ever real vacation without the kids. On a family trip here two years ago, I had fallen in love with Oval Beach, and my heart’s [...]
Farm Farewell
“I will stay until the wind changes,” says Mary Poppins, with typical aplomb, when the Banks children beg her never to leave. I love this scene in the movie. This exchange between Mary Poppins and the children springs to mind whenever I make a decision that surprises me even though [...]
Tradition and Change at Christmas — Part 2
I was not expecting a second part when I wrote my earlier post about simplifying our Christmas decorating a bit now that our children are increasingly away from home. Adapting to changing circumstances by doing less actually brought more satisfaction with the holiday, we discovered. Conversely, our daughter’s brief return [...]
Tradition and Change at Christmas
Creating and adhering to family traditions has been significant to our life as parents. Joe and I both are people who treasure tradition, so it came naturally to us to anchor our family holiday celebrations in meaningful practices. The word "tradition" seems synonymous with "unchanging," but as I look back [...]
In the Sukkah
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah. Amen. Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. [...]
Building a Sukkah
After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days . . . for the Lord your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy. (Deut. 16: 13-17) You shall live [...]
Remembering September 11, 2001
Every year at this time, I recollect what a perfectly beautiful September day it was. Driving my children to school that morning, I remember feeling grateful that the academic year had settled into a positive routine, especially for our youngest starting full-day kindergarten. The blue, blue sky affirmed that all [...]
Blueberry Blessings
I wrote this essay in 2006 or 2007, and a version of it appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Blueberries are the quintessential symbol of summer to me. Just as the season hits its full swing, these blue gems reach their perfect state of plumpness and taste sweet with just a [...]