Critique Partners: For Writing and Living
Before I began writing seriously, I saw it as a singular pursuit. I imagined a disheveled person at a desk in a windowless room with a half-drunk cup of cold coffee and maybe a sleeping dog. I don’t know why the writer in my mind was unkempt, perhaps because I...You can’t shovel snow with the handle.
A wise friend made a point with me last week. My friend sent me a photograph of a snow shovel ( a tool with which I am all too familiar). The caption said, ‘This is a great tool. Unless you’re holding the red end. Then you’re going to be frustrated.’ I love it when...There is something seriously wrong when a riddle is still a riddle after 50 years.
I walked into a business the other day and, on a white board, there was a riddle: A boy and a doctor were fishing.The boy was the doctor’s son,but the doctor was not the boy’s father.Who is the doctor? A riddle. That’s all it was. A device to occupy one’s mind. A few...Is breá liom tú níos mó. (I love you more.)
Thirty-eight months ago,I wanted a time machine so I could pop back to her first day of kindergarten and feel her tiny, baby-soft hands hugging my neck. Mwaa! Her kiss on my cheek before she skipped off to meet Mrs. Bean. Thirty-six months ago,I wanted a flat tire so...Old Dogs and New Tricks: Buttercup’s Boundary Lessons
This morning when I came in from my ride, I was greeted by Buttercup, one of our Boxers. She grabbed her favorite ball and wiggled sideways to where I was leaning against the counter waiting for my coffee. Instinctively, I put my palm up and she sat. For...Welcoming Our Whole Self
Last week, I downloaded Rosetta Stone and started to learn Greek. It’s something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. I remember going to mass with my grandparents at the Greek Orthodox church. I would listen to my grandfather speak with his friends in...Headwinds, Tailwinds, No Winds: In sailing and cycling, as in life
When we were on Guemes Island a few weeks ago, we watched a large sailboat come up from the south. Even without binoculars, I could see the sail straining as the wind filled it. The boat tilted slightly and then glided across the water. As it came around the tip of...Two Rights Don’t Make Anyone Wrong
For the past week, I’ve been sitting on a beach on an island off the Washington coast. It has been glorious! If you know anything about the Pacific Northwest, you might think I’m crazy. It’s April. It’s been a wet winter and most of my friends headed for warmer climes...Largess Over Vases Every Day
Real love, the kind that takes your breath away, is forged in the messier moments of a life together that is more like a Jeep ride on the tundra than a cruise through the Mediterranean.