The other morning my daughter Rebecca announces that she’d like to ride her bike to photography camp –- alone. We strike a deal that I’ll accompany her in the morning, letting her lead the way, but that yes, she can ride home on her own. She’s twelve now, and has a cell phone…just in case.
Read more...May pulled me by the collar like a cyclone. All month I spun from event to event–birthdays, mother’s day, school plays, school picnics, school fundraisers, school conferences, school projects, cycling events, and so forth. Beyond “planning” and “showing up,” there were annual medical appointments to be made, camp forms to be completed, a sputtering washing machine to fight, and the ongoing drill of stocking the fridge and freezer, and preparing family meals.
Read more...Some time ago I stumbled upon an unforgettable commencement speech by Ann Patchett. It was a speech she gave to Sarah Lawrence College, her alma mater, in May of 2006, titled, “What Now?” Today it’s a book.
Read more...My friend Magin, a very talented writer with crystalline insights, wrote this essay for Patheos.com and I’d like to give her some additional ink for such a well-conceived piece.
Read more...What a thrill to share my story for “Life Lessons Radio.”
Read more...I mourned a writer friend today who died of kidney failure. Twice Robyn was given kidneys, first by her father, when she was only thirteen. That kidney lasted twenty-two years — time that allowed her to finish high school, graduate from Colorado College, ride like the wind on her beloved horses, and adopt a stable of cats and border collies.
Read more...February 21 is the ninth anniversary of my first husband Brett’s death from brain cancer. It’s a day forever etched in my memory even as my twins – our twins, Rebecca and Casey – struggle to remember their father. They can’t really remember him, they weren’t even three years old when he died.
Read more...Valentines Day: a day to acknowledge the people in our lives whom we love. Of course no one really needs a designated day to express affection, gratitude, longings of the heart. And yet this is what the day has come to represent.
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