Ode to summer

It’s the first Sunday morning in October and the sky is a bit overcast and the sun didn’t make an appearance until almost 7am and it hits me with startling suddenness – the summer is well and truly over. I can be forgiven for not noticing – September has been warm here in Denver. I’m still wearing flip flops most […]

New Tools

I’ve been thinking lately of how crazy it is that little people eventually become adults. Where did this cute little baby go?? I’ve also been thinking about things we do to cope with life and our emotions. When Spencer was little and upset, his pacifier was one of the prime instruments in the toolbox of things that could help him […]

Exploring

I’m back! It’s a shock, I know. Shocking to me that I’ve been gone so long. Fortunately nothing terrible happened while I was gone. I was just uninspired in my writing life (or maybe too inspired…. I spent last fall working on a memoir type of writing piece but have lost steam on that for now). Anyway, I thought I’d […]

“All the news that’s fit to print”

I just realized that the last time I wrote was in March. I have great intentions of being a regular blogger, but life gets in the way (or maybe it is just laziness?) The biggest news in my life is that spring is here! Although summer continues to hold the top spot in my ranking of favorite seasons, spring is […]

And again?

There was a period of time, when Spencer was about 3 or 4 years old, when he watched “That Thing You Do” almost daily. It was a very effective tool in parenting because he would do just about anything to ensure that he could set up his “drums” (lincoln logs and a box) and play along with “The Wonders”. I […]

The Kindness of Strangers

I was flying across the country to spend the summer with a friend. I was 17 years old and it was my first time flying alone. The trip was uneventful until we landed in Boston. I had a connecting flight to Portland and when we arrived I discovered that because of weather, my flight had been cancelled. I had no […]

Lessons

Almost twenty years ago I got a call from Tom. I still remember I was weeding a flower bed. Bluntly he told me he’d been laid off (a result of the post 9/11 downturn in the economy). I remember feeling shocked – the foundations of our newly established life in Denver suddenly feeling shaky. My mind whirled into gear, thinking […]

Getting old …

I love this song by Paul Simon… My favorite thing about the song is the perspective it puts on the process of aging. I’ve been thinking about getting older – mainly because my body keeps shouting at me in unfamiliar ways. I look in the mirror in the morning and there are wrinkles that didn’t used to be there (and […]

An Austen Project

I read an article recently that rated Jane Austen’s leading men (in the movies). It was a light-hearted and funny look at the good guys and the bad guys. But it got me thinking. I’ve read all the novels but seen only a few of the various movie adaptations. Suddenly I want to see the films – all the films! […]

The Christmas Spirit

What is the Christmas spirit to you? I think the answers would be as varied as the people who answered. For some the festive atmosphere in all the shops says “Christmas” while for others the simple nativity instills that feeling of celebration. A beautifully decorated home or volunteering at a homeless shelter might invite that spirit for still others. This […]