You can tell I’ve fallen in love with a city (or country) if I pick up a real estate publication for the area. If I wanted to move there, how much might a house cost? Over the years, I’ve considered Bruges in Belgium, Sanibel Island in Florida, and San Francisco. And now, Scotland. Shall I
The second-floor room was not only packed, it was also stuffy despite the droning efforts of a small I-think-I-can-I-think-I-can window air-conditioner. Knowing anything can happen at a public open-mic event—dreadful poems about cats or pizza, 5,000 words delivered in a monotone—I considered the exit. Beside me, a writer pal rested her hand on my thigh.
Last week I flew to a remote village in Scotland for a women’s “listening and hiking retreat.” The website applecross.uk.com describes the area like this: “Between the mainland mountain masses and the Island of Skye lies the Applecross Peninsula. Home to just a couple of hundred people, and accessed by only two roads, the Bealach
There we were, three moms perched on the edge of the pool, watching our children cannonball off the side. “Hey, Di, how would you like to make $200?” my friend asked. “Maybe even today.” As soon as I said, “That would be amazing,” she and her friend, her “up-line,” rushed to tell me how. Later
“A shepherd-boy who watched a flock of sheep near a village brought out the villagers three or four times by crying out, ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ when there was no wolf…”
This post has been taken down because the online journal, “Borrowed Solace,” picked it up. Yay, Sarah!! I’ll post a link when her essay goes live. When I read this moving post earlier in the week, I immediately asked Sarah if I could run it on my blog today. She was gracious enough to
(by Cole Smith) Recently, I learned a big life lesson about the intelligences and what it feels like to smack up against failure. After our car was totaled a few days before Christmas, I walked across the street from the body shop and asked about a car that was for sale. Literally — across the street! It
So tell me, what’s stressing you out these days? Your kids’ sports and/or dance schedules? Figuring out what’s for supper tonight? Taking care of your aging parents? No time for self-care? For me, it’s the lengthy and on-going list of things I need to do for my house, family (including pets), and writing. The other
I love the first day of school. I love the first day of school, be it kindergarten, middle school, or college. Once the kids walk out the door, there is both silence and a guaranteed span of time in which messes will not be made. The clean quiet makes me feel like I belong to
It was in the spring of last year when I found myself breaking up with a friend. I blame Andy Stanley for making me do it. Stanley is a popular pastor out of Atlanta, Georgia, and from time to time, I work his messages into my podcast schedule. Late one May morning in 2016, as
