I bought the aster plants one year not quite knowing what they were. They bloomed late in the season, bright purple and tall. A last-minute stunner. Every year they have grown more profuse, often making surprise appearances in other garden beds far from their original home outside our kitchen window. As summer loses its grip, […]

I have had some very honest conversations with a few dear friends recently. These conversations are game-changers. Not because there is any advice offered. No quick-fix suggestions. No "I used to struggle with the same thing, but then I found a perfect answer" nonsense. Nope. Just deep listening. Gentle curiosity. Simple questions asked only for […]

I love listening to broken people talk about God. There is no moralizing, no pontificating, no fake humility about how they are just so blessed. Just. So. Blessed. Give me a good alcoholic who has to try every day to stay on the wagon, give me someone who has had their heart broken once or […]

I have been thinking about this Boris Pasternak quote for weeks now: "When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, its sound is often no louder than the beating of your heart and it is very easy to miss it." (Boris Pasternak - 1890-1960) I have been thinking back on this past […]

I indulged in a facial last week. Pure delight. I was struck by how gently and tenderly my aesthetician treated my face. Such light touches, Such gentle strokes. It almost brought me to tears. Weird, right? Think about it, though - our faces do such majestic work all day, every day. They are how we […]

Wake up and roll out of bed … Hug the husband, Start the coffee, Make the bed, Water the garden, Empty the dishwasher, Take out the trash, Scrabble together some lunch. Morning chores … mundane, monotonous; the ordinary stuff of our ordinary days. Necessary jobs using up (wasting?) our precious time. The boring by-products of […]