“Statues” was a game we kids played during recess on the playground. One kid (usually a girl, a bossy “Lucy” type) got to control the action; the rest of us would dance and whirl and act crazy until she shouted “Freeze!” and we’d all stop in mid-action. Whoever wobbled first from their “statue” […]
A stoic does not express emotion. A stoic family is mostly expressionless. I was reared in a stoic household: Germanic (on Mom’s side – she referred back only as far as “Pennsylvania Dutch,” because she liked their folk art) and Welsh (on Dad’s side – traced back to the 15th century and Sir Rhys […]
Last week I had one of the most memorable meals of my life. Out of curiosity I’ve searched back through my memory files, and found just a few other such memorable repasts: – A wiener roast on the top of a high snow-covered dune (we called it “Mt. Everest”) on the southern shore of […]
This month, when acquaintances and clerks and baristas asked, “Are you doing anything special for the holidays?” I replied, “I’m doing nothing.” If they assumed that that was a sad, or lonesome, or irreligious state, I might add, “I love being in the dark time of year, and I don’t want to lose a moment […]
Last week my son Michael came to Whidbey Island for a weeklong visit. It was the first extended just-you-and-me time we’d had in years, and we determined to make the most of it. One of the highlights of our time together had us laughing so hard for so long that I thought we might have […]
A month ago I went away for a week to do nothing but write poetry. I went prepared, taking with me my poetry “sketchbooks” (ideas for new poems), and potential poetry drafts that I hadn’t nurtured in years, and a few pretty good poems that just needed their “final” polish (note: for a poet, no […]
PLEASE COME ALONG WITH ME on a stroll through this past month, and encounter with me some of what I’ve noticed: • Three new houses are under construction on the short cul de sac on which I live. I watched as the lots were surveyed and marked, and the land was reshaped and remeasured. The […]
Recently I read these numbers in an article in “The Week” magazine: CNBC reports that a day on Princess Cruises costs about $135. A day in a private room of a nursing home costs $253. When you compare the monthly costs, Princess Cruises adds up to about $4,200, and the private room at the nursing home […]
Twenty-five years ago I was working as a nationally certified hospital chaplain. The work I treasured most was time I spent with dying people, and I wanted to apply for a regional chaplaincy position with Hospice – which required a masters degree that I didn’t have. My husband of 33 years had died several months […]
“Mortal Beings,” my first book of poetry, is now well and truly launched into the world. And I’m even more in love with it than I was when it was first accepted for publication. The launch celebration was held at Enso House, our island’s end-of-life care residence for people with terminal illnesses. There […]