My time in France has been less about rolling lavender fields, romantic rivers and the rising Pyrenees and more about inner landscape – silence, reverence, and connection. I went on two pilgrimages, one guided by Eastern traditions and the other…
Searching for Silver
In March of 2020, life in Antigua, Guatemala (my new hometown) changed dramatically, as it did across the world. We went into a lockdown the likes of which no one had ever seen. Doors around the city were shut and…
A 17 Year Blink
She sat across from me, her eyes tearing up. “I am at the end of an era. My youngest child just graduated from high school and my life will never be the same,” she said. This wasn’t an expression of…
Endings and Beginnings
There is some sadness in ‘ending’ my monthly newsletter, even as there is excitement about ‘beginning’ a briefer, more regular correspondence. With change there is an end. And endings, by their nature, are poignant. Perhaps you are experiencing your own…
When Cancer Calls
On Friday June 1st, my beloved husband, Daniel, was diagnosed with colon cancer. He is one of the 112,000 people annually who receive such news. The following week he, at age 46, had his first ever CAT scan, his first…
Ending a Chapter, Beginning a New
I watched, amused, as the young man spoke through gritted teeth, “Just take the picture!” This man-child had his arm around his mother’s shoulders while his father snapped a picture saying, “You don’t start college every day, you know. Smile.” …
Grateful Grieving
I placed a phone call to an elderly woman who was recently widowed. When the answering machine picked up, I didn’t hear the customary greeting of “We’re not home; leave a message.” Instead, I heard a voice say boldly, “Donald…
Wait List
We have been waiting months to learn where our daughter will be going to college this fall. When the day finally came, we learned that her top college put her on their wait list . . . and so we…
Minor Details
They handed her to me, still covered in the fluids of birth. She might have been an angel sent directly from heaven. 10 fingers. 10 toes. Two tiny, little ears. She was perfect in every way. And somehow, eighteen years…
New Year’s Weave
Here we are on the cusp of another year – time for my annual contemplative “Hope and Cope Report.” Rather than making a stale New Year’s resolution, this is my tradition of intentional reflection.With 4 simple columns marked “Knowns”, “Unknowns”,…