Magical Memoir Moments
Giving Thanks 2021: Doubling Down on Gratitude
Last year at this time was very dark. The pandemic. Both children were in hospitals miles apart. Cold weather. Fading light. A dark night of soul and body. It was very hard to see the blessings in my life when there was so much suffering. So this year, I am rejoicing twice. Once for all…
How Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, and Norbert Krapf Helped Me to Become a More Mindful Grandparent
Did you watch the Nobel Prize ceremony in 2016 when Patti Smith sang “It’s a Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” in honor of her friend Bob Dylan? If not, you need to watch it here. And if you are one of the three million people who have already watched this video, trust me, it’s worth another…
Vintage Dress Photo Shoot at the Home Place
Several weeks after we moved to Lititz, PA, I invited my daughter Kate, granddaughter Lydia, niece Joyous, and her daughter Anna Mary to join me in exploring a pile of vintage clothing I bought in the late 1980s at my Grandpa Hess’ estate sale.The dresses had stayed in closets in Goshen, IN; Kalamazoo, MI; and…
“Whatever Happened to That Book You Were Going to Write?”
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may recall that I wrote a prayer on February 15, 2020, asking for guidance and strength as I undertook a new book-writing project. I had no idea that a month later the whole country would be closed down due to a pandemic. Nor could I have…
Was Tom Wolfe Right or Wrong: Can We Go Home Again?
“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood … back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time—back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.” –Thomas Wolfe Thomas Wolfe…
From This Valley They Say We Are Going: Another Turning Point
A few days ago I wrote about the long, cold winter our family has endured. This week new life has erupted. Daffodils are budding, and the early ones are dancing in the breeze. This beautiful passage from the second chapter of the Song of Solomon speaks for us: “Arise, my love, my fair…
The Crucible of Winter: What Has It Taught You?
“Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” — Katherine May I have been through a very painful winter. Have you too? Today, turning the calendar page today to March 1 felt liberating. Then a walk in balmy, windy, air, listening to birds, looking for crocuses and pansies, admiring the…
What Keeps Me Standing: The Wisdom of Black Grandmothers
In the midst of both a pandemic and an anti-racist social justice movement in our country, I find myself, as a white person, a mother, grandmother, and now a caregiver, searching for the wisdom of black grandmothers. I believe black women may be the most resilient people in the world and that their strength gives…
In Our Dark Night: Mother Julian’s Words and a Grandson’s Drawing
It’s hard to write tonight. The news is so distressing. George Floyd’s tragic death is the tip of the spear. We should all be coming together to fight the Corona virus — and the other viruses of injustice, racism, and inequality. We need wise leaders. We need change. Will it happen? Despair comes more easily…
Care Packages for Grandchildren: Creativity While Quarantined
What’s a Grandma to do? When hugs are forbidden? Stores are closed? And she’s told “elders” like her must stay home? She asks her friends on Facebook, of course. “What can I do to stay connected when all I have are things around the house?” I asked. You wouldn’t believe how many GREAT ideas other…