I am a Sex in the City afficionado. Although I could not relate in the slightest to the women, their wardrobes, their sex-capades or their lifestyles, the witty repartee drew me in. Honestly, I always wanted to be a New York novelist, writing from my brownstone window, as Carrie Bradshaw does. So, I was delighted… Continue reading Resurrection

Each winter, I wonder how many brain cells I surrender to central heating. With my sinuses growing ever drier as I huddle indoors, I find my mind playing tricks on itself. My brain, like my body, longs for sunshine and outdoor activities. Amidst the gloomy gray of these January days, perhaps what we need is… Continue reading The Umbrella

Each year, as I struggle through winter, I wonder when I'll remember to buy a sunlight therapy light. Maybe next year, I tell myself as I count down the days until spring. Just before Christmas, literary aficionados everywhere lost a brilliant writer: Joan Didion, whose life was etched with an unthinkable series of tragedies. This… Continue reading Winter’s Promise

We have made it to the new year, and already I’ve broken one of my resolutions. I’m in good company: Although over 45 percent of Americans make resolutions, only 8 percent keep them. I did a little research and found out that the tradition of making resolutions dates back to the Babylonians. More recently, John… Continue reading The Sandpiper’s Conundrum

I recently heard of a young theology student who was told, upon entering class, that everyone would sit quietly for ten minutes at the beginning. This was unnerving to him, as it would be to so many of us who are hot-wired to multi-task, to move. This story hit home because I realized lately that… Continue reading The Sounds of Silence

Thankful for the ordinary,the mundane Mondays we drift through,words we won’t remember. Yet never forget.For lime green post its onto whichI have miles of lists to make, to keep. Thankful for that which annoys me,rain splashing against my windshieldthat reminds me I am inside. Warm and dry.For long commutes are our routinesand in each journey… Continue reading Thanksgiving

For some odd reason, I remember we were eating meatloaf that night. It was a few weeks before my freshman year in college. I had just created a moat out of my mashed potatoes and loaded the green peas on top (a family tradition) when the phone rang. Dad answered it and, with a puzzled… Continue reading Fugitive Fridays

Every year at this time, it’s hard for me to resist the aisles of school supplies. I share my love of office products with my brother and at least one of my daughters. I remember the annual excitement when the school list came out. Always there was the one teacher who demanded that we buy… Continue reading Oh, Those Olas!

I needed her this week. It was a particularly difficult week—a rough few days at work, the stinging realization that I have been ghosted by a long-time friend, the escalating issues in Afghanistan and, of course, the fatigue that comes from brooding over the rise in COVID cases. Melancholy prevailed. What I needed was my… Continue reading Where does it go?

I could hear the frustration in her voice. A while back, a student called to discuss a problem she had. It was obvious that her stress level was running high and the pitch of her voice climbed with her desperation. I was quiet, just letting her get it all out. Then she said something I’ll… Continue reading The Crisis of Ennui