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Personal Reflection

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Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 February 2008

October 2018

October 17, 2018

Waiting for Nothing to Happen

When I was in my twenties, toward the end of a not-especially-dissolute but nonetheless untethered...

October 15, 2018

Morning in a Forgotten Neighborhood

The other day it was raining. The clouds were impossibly low, skimming the tops of...

October 10, 2018

Humans Love Heroes

In the video James Corden approaches a podium wearing a dark grey suit and a...

October 03, 2018

The Lost Goodbye

You've been gone for only hours In a casket made of wood When no one...

September 2018

September 26, 2018

The Stars of the Earth Cry Out

Last night, as I walked on the road that leads me home, I saw a...

September 25, 2018

Remembering Sassy

Sassy wasn’t her real name, and she wasn’t “sassy” at all. But as happens with...

September 24, 2018

Swallowing My Pride

I lost it at the dentist's office the other day. I was there with my...

September 20, 2018

Beginner Ballet

I hobbled into beginner ballet at age thirty-six, late for my first class, whirring between...

September 05, 2018

Tahlequah’s Grief

On July 24, an orca calf died off the coast of British Columbia within thirty...

September 04, 2018

At the Table

1. The temptation is there. Every time my daughter rubs her elbow against it, the...

August 2018

August 29, 2018

Caves of Wonder

To reach the mouth of Mammoth Cave’s historic entrance, we made a short descent into...

August 28, 2018

Athlete: That’s Me!

When I bought the shirt, I didn’t think much of it. It was for workouts,...

August 23, 2018

The Vision Will Not Disappoint

It is a miracle that we do not love; love is the watermark in the...

August 20, 2018

Doorways to Death

My house has doors built for death. When my husband and I first bought it...

August 14, 2018

Marital Anger and Icelandic Rock Spirits

The first time I threw something in a pathetic fit of anger, my husband and...

August 06, 2018

Can a Racist Drive a Prius? Stereotypes and the Single Story

I think it's good for me when my stereotypes of others are challenged. Like this...

August 01, 2018

I’ll Be Waiting Right Here

Apparently, running late may be a symptom of optimism, creativity, and literally perceiving time differently....

July 2018

July 26, 2018

Rubble and Re-Creation

In the beginning, when God was creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was...

July 23, 2018

Welcome to Tel Aviv

Early on Friday morning, the first full day of my recent trip to Israel with...

July 19, 2018

I Hate Summer

For the past several days—until today, alas—we’ve been having a spell of entirely uncharacteristic weather...

July 16, 2018

Pennies from Heaven

I’ve never really been into crosses. Like fire hydrants or Starbucks, there are so many,...

July 02, 2018

Living in a Border State

I spent elementary school in a Mexican neighborhood in Austin, Texas. I attended birthday parties...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

For the Love of Money

My husband and I took a spring break trip to the central coast of California,...

June 25, 2018

Monasticism In Lockdown America, Part 7: Holy Fool

Hank’s trembling confession that he’d be killing God if he killed another inmate had charged...

June 20, 2018

An Italian Journey with Auden, Goethe, Sex, and God

Recently, I was wandering around some of the less travelled corners of Tuscany with a...

June 18, 2018

Yehuda Amichai: My One Poet

If I could have only one poet, I’d choose Yehuda Amichai. He’s the poet of...

June 14, 2018

Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 5, Holy Elders

With their white beards and deep lines in their faces, the older men stand out...

June 13, 2018

On Cultivating Friendship

On a festive Sunday evening in what should have been spring (nearly sixty degrees at...

June 12, 2018

I Am Not My Phone

How You Know It’s Time for a New Phone There was a moment when...

June 07, 2018

Monasticism in Lockdown America: Part 4, Asceticism

Monks in the Orthodox tradition have long believed that God’s love is unchanging, constant, like...