The Dangerous Trap of “Always Wanting More” (And Why You Can’t Stop Chasing It)
Some days I can’t wait to get out of bed and get moving. Moving toward what? Nothing in particular. But staying still means I’m boring, doesn’t it? Surely the next best thing is just over the hill or beyond that rainbow over there. What rainbow, you ask?…
The Weight of Distance: How Memories Bridge Time, Loss, and Family Legacy
Distance is a fascinating word. We usually think of it in miles. How far from here to there. How many hours on the road. How many feet across a room. But distance can also be measured in years. It can be fifty years ago. A hundred. A thousand. It can…
Meeting Pooh’s Pet Snake: Why You Shouldn’t Judge Until You Look Face-to-Face
My granddaughters, Chrissy and Rye, both have pet snakes. I have to admit, when the two of them proudly announced, “I have a pet snake,” I questioned my daughters’ parenting skills. “Chrissy, what are you going to do with a snake?” “He’s my pet.” I just…
The Sound of the Midnight Train: Reflections on Melancholy, Memory, and Growing Older
Melancholy. What a strange word. It can mean longing, reflection, sadness, the memory of times past. In living my life, it is not a word I have given much thought. Yet here I am, in the midst of what I suppose would be called melancholy. There is a train…
Living in the Shadow of Cancer: An Honest Look at Survival and Loss
“This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks…” Wait. Are we sure this is how all great pieces of writing are supposed to begin? Over the past few months, I have tried my hand at prose. Well, writing. Let’s not get carried away and…
The Tool Is Not The Boss
I have talked to a hammer before, and usually after I smashed a thumb. I have said a few unkind words to a socket wrench too, especially after dropping a starter on my face. That wrench did not warn me. It did not apologize. It did not offer comfort,…