I’m coming out of a store when I see my mother standing on the sidewalk. Not really, she’s been dead for thirty-four years, but there’s something about the woman’s frame, her pink cotton blouse, the way she styled her hair, and the softness of her throat that reminds me of my mom. It’s like someone
I’m still thinking about seasons, and the unexpected rewards and challenges that come with change, and something I read in my morning meanderings gives me pause. Contentment. The word seems bolded in the essay but the emphasis is in my mind alone, and I realize I’ve drifted and need to correct course. Trust. That’s another one,
The burden that comes from putting one mud-heavy foot in front of the other day after day grows troublesome. I should make a list, I think. Spend time ruminating on simple happy things. Or maybe there’s a better way. Be still. Listen. Words, overused, have lost something of their meaning. Try another: Divine. An old-fashioned stringing
It turns windy as we retire for the evening, and the curtains in the bedroom dance next to the open door and window. Maya, our Yorkie, is not pleased. She has never liked wind. She claims her space at the top corner of our bed, next to where I lay my head. It is farthest
It’s become a daily thing—sometimes more than once a day. I haven’t come close to mastering it, and I lose most of the time, but playing chess is a great way to keep our aging brain cells limber. It’s strategic, quiet, and, in my case, a mountain to be conquered. I start the game with a
It turns out to be a long and busy day. My mind is busy, and I struggle to wind down at the end of it. I think about opportunities and the changing of seasons. I have more questions than answers—that is most often the case. I believe in the wonder of magical things, and I
I spend a couple of hours in the garden, pondering, imagining, making decisions, and tossing tiny seeds in the ground. I’m toting tomato and pepper plants outside every day and bringing them back in the house in the early evening. There are seed packets in my purse, and basil growing in my laundry room. These,