Yesterday, in my monthly writing group, we explored belonging. During our time together, I heard something I hadn't contemplated before: how we belong even to what is hard or difficult. It's human nature to want to eliminate these difficulties, to avert our eyes and minds from…
My garden is my teacher. The lessons she teaches me reverberate through body, heart, blood, mind and skin. A few weeks ago I harvested this year's sweet potato crop. We just finished eating the last ones: they were so delicious. This reminded me that I never published the…
Yesterday I had a long list of tasks, most of which involved the computer, a tired body, and a tired mind. I had little motivation to do the things I needed to do. So I did what I often do when I feel this way: I went outside to visit…
This year my beloved acupuncturist, Dr. Wu, retired. I could sing you love songs about Dr. Wu. He took such good care of me these past 4 1/2 years of long covid. He often gave me extra time and let me sleep on the table (every acupuncture treatment put…
I have four children, and much of my weekends have born the imprint of their activities these past twenty years. There have been choir contests, live music gigs, swim meets, kung fu classes, dance recitals, plays, and countless soccer games. Two of my children have played soccer, so I'…
I've often said that my church is The Church of H.E.B. H.E.B is the main grocery store where I live in Texas, and the grocery store is our unity, where we all come together: old, young, rich, poor; construction workers and bankers; teenagers looking…
Once a month I drive fifteen miles to a church hall in a neighboring town, where kind volunteers stack the tables with boxes of jigsaw puzzles. For thirty minutes, people swap puzzles and stories. It's free and regulars know to bring a bag: we're encouraged to…
When people ask me what I do, I tell them I'm a writer. The next question is often about what I write. For many years - knee high in the thick of mothering four children - I chuckled and said, "A lot of grocery and shopping lists.…