So we picked up my son’s glasses Friday night, and at first he was elated. “I can SEE!” He kept sliding the glasses up and down the bridge of his nose. “I can’t read that sign. Now I CAN. Now I can’t see that …. Now I can.”
Next thing he said was, “Hey, did you [...]
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So I think I mentioned before that my son and husband have taken up running. This was part of a deal we made with my son, who wanted to quit playing travel team soccer this year after playing the sport since he was four (he’s almost eleven, so quitting is a big deal). [...]
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When I had skin cancer, I thought a lot about what would happen to my family if I died. I also thought a lot about what I would change immediately about the way I was living my life. How would my teaching alter? Would I even be able to continue teaching? [...]
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Dear Grandma,
I miss you. Lately these flashes of memories keep intruding on my day.
Your laugh. You looked so regal, so classy. But your laugh was down home, real folk, spilling out of you whenever the smallest opportunity for mirth arose. How much we laughed, working on your book, our book. Every Sunday night when I [...]
Filed under: Scandinavia, biography, creative non-fiction, family, grandma, grief, memoir, memoir writing, research, road trip, travel, weather, women, writing | 1 Comment »
I don’t understand how orchid blossoms can last so long. It seems like a miracle. Week after week, even months at a time, the cluster of orchid blooms cling to a brown stick shooting out of the base of the plant. MIne had ten blossoms. I say “had” because suddenly this weekend, they began to [...]
Filed under: creative non-fiction, education | 2 Comments »
Please do not be offended. It’s not my fault that idolatry is tolerated in my home. I am certainly not guilty of it! My son isn’t doing it. My husband isn’t…well..isn’t doing it, per se, though he is the object of devotion, a household god of sorts.
Our dog, as I think [...]
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This week my husband and I marked our 18th wedding anniversary. The hubbster gave me a thoughtful and well-written card (he’s a fabulous writer), and I gave him my annual poem written for the occasion and enclosed in a less thoughtful and well-written card. But, hey, he got a poem, so I’m off the [...]
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The audience sat hushed in the oldest church in Lowell this morning. Even the baby near the back who had been fussing for most of the concert was silent. Then the familiar strains began of our national anthem. It was the final song of an hour-long concert. As I looked at the [...]
Filed under: Scandinavia, children, creative non-fiction, dream, education, family, immigration, parenting, politics, war | 2 Comments »
We arrived in Newcastle, in the northeast of England, on Monday morning and disembarked from our ship, The Queen of Scandinavia. What we didn’t know was that we were not actually in Newcastle and had to catch one of the DFDS Seaways buses to the city. Having waited until the majority of people left the [...]
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Sorry that I’ve been off-line for a while, folks. Odd that it’s been harder to get internet in Scandinavia than in Peru…. Anyway, here’s a recap on the last part of the Scandinavian portion of my trip. Tomorrow I’ll post on the UK part.
TRONDHEIM: Discovered a few key things of use there for my book.
(1) [...]
Filed under: Scandinavia, creative non-fiction, family, fear, food, health, immigration, memoir writing, religion, research, travel, travel writing, war, weather, writing | Leave a Comment »
