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...

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...
i make pretty things

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 that...

sleepless

Tossing and turning in bed at night.  I’m keeping her awake again, I know.  She always sleeps easy, slips into dreamland with the ease of someone who has finished her days work and is satisfied by it. In the middle of a sentence sometimes, her breathing changes and I...

wholeness

I’m on my way to bed, but I leave the hall light on for a moment to tiptoe into her room.  Every night I do this right before bed, sneak into their rooms one last time, my light kiss on the head a prayer to the universe to keep them always safe. On impulse, this...

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...

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...