Clik here to view.
The Work of a Lifetime
Yesterday, I expressed my dismay at the story of a 61-year-old widow who’d left her home and her family and live the rest of her life in a monastery. She died recently—at 92—and both the secular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Self-help and the Holy Spirit
I noticed it first in the bookstore. A brightly colored table full of self-help books interspersed with flip flops and beach blankets promised readers that this would be the summer they’d finally...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning together this summer
There’s something crazy happening out there in summer camp world. It’s as if everyone is making up for lost time. Camps are filled to overflowing with waiting lists for the waiting list. And parents...
View ArticleThe power of apologies
Have you ever stopped to wonder in awe at the power of an apology? So many supernatural things have to happen for an apology to be everything it has the potential to be. Apologies are kind of here-now...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rest in Christ
My friend Mrs. Berry used to say that a change is as good as a rest. In hindsight, I think this was her way of convincing herself that a vacation was restful despite the fact that every mother knows...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Life Lessons in the Garden
My garden holds countless life lessons; I’m sure of it. We first saw our house in February. New England in February is beautiful, actually, but it’s beautiful in a shades-of-gray-brown kind of way....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Responding to World on Fire
I have lost count of how many times in the last couple days I’ve read the words, "the world is on fire." We pivoted quickly from discussing COVID-19 vaccines and the delta variant to grieving and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
First Daybook in a Decade?
Outside My WindowThere is a Mary garden outside the window over my sink that is truly in its glory now. I love watching it change throughout the summer. Phlox is showing particularly strong this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On hydrangeas and moving and aging...
It was the hydrangeas that got me first. When we moved into this house on the last day of June, the mophead hydrangeas were in bloom. Every time I walked out the back door, I was struck by the sheer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On Flowers, and Filler, and Making Life Meaningful
My son got married last weekend. My daughters and I kicked off the wedding weekend with a trip to Trader Joe’s to fill a cart with flowers. Katie, who is almost 20, said that filling a cart with cut...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do you trust me?
As I approach my 35th wedding anniversary, which will fall just days after my third son gets married, my thoughts keep turning to the miracle of marriage. I mean, what’s the chance that two people can...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Looking back, looking forward
The days between Christmas and the new year are some of my favorite days every year. There is a hush after the flurry of activity and excitement. The pace slows if I allow it to, and there is time for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From the first trip of the new year....
Hi, there!Happy New Year! I am currently on a plane heading west to Las Vegas. My husband and I are going out to visit our son, who moved there a couple months ago. It’s a big trip that has been much...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Hallmark Movie Spa Day (sort of)
Hello, there!It’s February, and boy howdy is it ever weird. It’s been remarkably warm all winter here in New England. Sarah is in a ski club and the only snow they’ve seen is artificially blown onto...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Daybook As Lent Begins
Outside my window: It’s a muddy mess. Usually, February in Connecticut is a beautiful world of black and white. The snow falls in December and it stays, a fresh blanket every week or so ensuring that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It's a Beautycounter Birthday Party!
And you’re invited!Beautycounter is throwing a HUGE party to celebrate 10 years of advocating for better beauty. My girls and I had an in-person party planned for last weekend, but our hostess had to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sleepless nights and how to press on...
I didn’t sleep well last night. Or the night before, really. Our family has been under some intense emotional strain for… well, for some time now. The details are not unimportant, but they are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Way We Remember It
Somewhere in the middle of March, the five of us who have relocated to an antique house in Connecticut were sitting around the kitchen counter remembering that three years ago the world kind of tilted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Friends & Family, Indeed
Hi, there!I’m writing late Tuesday afternoon, with plans to post right after Nick’s midnight medication dosing. I’ve been here in Virginia for over a week now, and Nick’s recovery has been bumpy at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We are not the vine
Sometimes, especially as parents in times of trial, we can feel very much alone. We can feel as if the world — or at least our children’s small worlds — depends entirely upon us. We feel as if we are...
View Article
