We were in Julie’s room one night, my eldest daughter and I. I wanted to show her how the canvas painting she had carefully labored over for Julie’s Christmas gift was framed and hung on the wall. I said, gazing at her masterpiece with no small amount of motherly pride, …
forever {or something like it}
I don’t believe in -forever- not the version I was sold perfect and pretty and tied with a bow placed (by request) on a pedestal to keep itself safe My forever is fleeting and flawed and humble in its inherent lack of promise it’s not easily subdued nor naive enough …
uncommon sense: because living is courageous
I’m not nearly as strong as you. I can’t leave. Oh darling. My sweet, wonderful, intensely brave darling. Sit down with me here, cross legged, face to face. Take a deep breath. I want to lift your chin and look deep into your eyes and tell you some things. It …
words :: revisited
{on my desk sits a black fabric journal. it is a plain, ordinary, nondescript book. from the outside, it looks as if it could not possibly hold anything important. only I know that it holds the most valuable thing I possess. my story.} 5.22.09 I’m in birthday party hell. I’m …
for all my fellow makers of pretty things
I am blessed to be surrounded by artists and dreamers, in life and online. I hear – in our whispers, conversations, songs, and dreams the same yearnings, the same daring, the same questioning of our worth and purpose and direction . I think this video will speak to many …
peaceful space
The window looks out over a thicket of woods, right where the yard drops off steeply into an impenetrable tangle of trees and brush. If you lie in this room and you close your eyes, it is the crashing of waves, and the croaking of frogs and the rustling of leaves that lull you to sleep. This bed, ancient iron with flecked paint and sagging mattress, cradled me the night my truth began to travel home to me. There is peace living in the walls of this space. Peace and simplicity, whispering a reminder of how much I have, and how little I need.
i will own it {revisited}
The creative drive. ‘Tis life force and relentless demon in equal measure. We artistic misfits cram ourselves into a culture is usually centered on new, better, different. What to create that has not yet created? What to do that is better than what has already been done? How to dig …
you are safe here. you are home now. you can rest.
Hey you. Yes, you. You have been so brave. So strong. So resolved. You have been standing your ground for months now and you are so very tired. You give everything to others and you are depleted. Your profound generosity is one of the truest things in the universe, but …
i make pretty things
This post was written and published seven years ago. It was a a different lifetime, really. My marriage had ended the year before – grief and shock were still lodged in my bones. With seven years as a stay at home mother away from my home country on a visa …
teachable moments
Teachable moments. As parents we know to look out for those fleeting instances where life and learning come together effortlessly. A trip to the grocery store teaches colors and counting to a toddler, a donation to the food bank brings opportunity to discuss poverty and hunger. Life swirls around us …
why {peace, love, free}?
{peace.love.free} is inspired by the song “Exactly” by Amy Steinberg. I first heard this song almost two years ago, and since then the words and melody have carried me through some of my darkest nights and most blissful days. I have centered and grounded my experience on the wings of …
