I often feel a little off, guilty, and/or embarrassed after sharing something confessional and personal. That audience thing nags at me… I ask myself: am I ok, by which I mean comfortable, with other people knowing these things about me? Family, co-workers, friends? The answer is almost always no, I’m not comfortable with any of…
Category: Love
Beach Day in the Afterlife
I spent this past weekend at the beach. I love being near the ocean. I like walking near water. I think differently when I’m near the water. It was a nice, but all too short, getaway. I snapped a decent picture on Sunday morning before the beach was crowded – when the only people on…
Chemistry and Stars
The text conversation began … “I wanted to match with you first and tell you that your first date description gave me a little bit of the goosebumps because it’s been a while since I’ve had that kind of a first date.” Over the July 4th holiday weekend we went out. We had a good…
Wasting Their Sweetness (and Resenting It)
Expectations are resentments under construction. -Anne Lamott A few weeks ago, I sent a few poems off to a friend for some feedback. I’m not sure why. In my mind, I feel like I’m at a crossroads of sorts. I don’t really need someone to tell me to keep at it, but I kinda want…
Speak to Me Wild and Precious
Attention without feeling is only a report. -Mary Oliver I wanted more and I didn’t know how to get it. -Joy Harjo I found another new-to-me podcast: On Being. It too, is about how to live a purposeful life. Among the episodes I’ve listened to have been interviews with the poets Mary Oliver, Joy Harjo,…
Dismissive, Independent, Avoidant Johnny and Sometimes Anxious Sue
I want to write about a guy I used to know. We sometimes ran into each other at one of the bars I frequented. We would talk or share stories. I wouldn’t say we were friends, but we were friendly. In fact, I think if we ever got to talking politics, I suspect we wouldn’t…
Work, Passion, and the Monkey Mind
If I could choose those things over which I obsess or focus, I’d like them to be things that make me smile… things that bring me joy… things that make me understand better what it means to be human. A counter to that way of thinking is to smile at more things, find joy in…
Some Words of Encouragement
My daughter has started to volunteer, fundraise, and advocate on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association. It’s a cause she cares about and one that has touched her personally. I’m proud of her for doing this. I’m proud of her for taking those first awkward steps into public speaking. I’m proud of her for sticking with…
Skirting the Surface
Yesterday was tough. For a good part of the day, I had this empty, sinking feeling. It felt worse than the usual Sunday/Monday work anxiety… which shouldn’t have been much of an issue because I have the day off today (though I have a few work things I need to do). The day started off…
Happy Red Card, Flowers, and Chocolates Day
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.…But…
Morning Reverie
For the life of me, I can’t remember what the fight was about. Needing space on one side, needing affirmation on the other. A push and pull until someone ran and someone else gave chase. The things I remember – the gut punch feeling in the morning when she said it was over. The attempts…
The Power of Pez
I can remember eating Pez from my Spiderman dispenser and pretending they gave me super strength the way spinach made Popeye strong. Sometimes I’d roll up my sleeves and flex the way a four-year-old flexes as if to say “look at me, I have muscles.” I’m pretty sure the Pez were also anti poison pills,…