Recent Posts

So much of being a writer is being a witness to a story in another room, another dimension, another lifetime.  It’s late on a Monday night when I push open the door to your room, my eyes following the orange triangle of light that slides under your desk on the way in. I am not… Read more

About a week ago, after 32 epic hours in New York City that included a tattoo, a concert, some really good food, and 1 hour of sleep, I then went straight to school from the airport and spent 4 hours of teaching. By dinnertime, I was a shell of myself. And that’s when I met… Read more

A new school year is underway. For me, that usually means quiet mornings with my planner and my bible, Nickel Creek playing on a loop, and a fresh set of goals. It means time to think and regroup after a fun summer at home with my kids. It means watching long shadows in the afternoons… Read more

Flying as a family of six has always been an adventure that bordered on the macabre. When the kids were little, we could dictate everything but control nothing. Now we don’t even have the power to dictate. They are grown. We have improved our system of traveling but not our results. Something always happens. Either… Read more

I spent Mother’s Day weekend in New York City doing exactly what I wanted to do. It was the opposite of mothering. If there is ever a good time to leave your kids, this wasn’t it. End of school assignments and exams are looming. Tensions run higher in May than they do in December. But… Read more

I am all or nothing.Everything I do is all or nothing.I either eat the whole hog until I’m sick, or I starve myself until I’m dead on the sidewalk with a small plate of bacon next to me. There is no in between. And even though I know I am this way, and even though… Read more

Grief is an animal.It greets you differently every time you meet it. You can try to meet it on your terms and with your timing. You can go prepared. You can bargain and bribe and bestow. But it’s an animal. It’s totally unpredictable. Today is a big day on my grief calendar. But so far… Read more

I had a bite of French toast in my mouth this morning when I glanced up at the TV in the corner of the diner. A reporter stood in the snow wearing a parka. The headline was snow related. And the weather map was snow related, showing all the places that were under a thick,… Read more

My kitchen is a place of mystery. It shouldn’t be that way, because it is MY kitchen. But I’m a person that skips over the things I don’t know and tries to glean the meaning through context. That works well enough in stories with simple plots. It’s less effective when you have to eat your… Read more

They say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. My preacher recently pointed out that the road to Heaven is also paved with good intentions. It’s what you DO on each road that matters. If the heat you’re packing is only the intent, you might be on the wrong road. I’ve been… Read more