simply me and jeans

I remember the day I stopped misspelling “desert” and “dessert.” It was 2nd grade and my teacher said, “You don’t want more time in the desert, but you always want more dessert. Right? So, dessert has more S’s just like you would want more dessert.” It’s 50 years later and I haven’t forgotten that lesson. […]

I float through the dark as hoards of shadows crash into me. Pushing me every which way until I lose sight of light…of land…of life.  With one hand I search for something solid and with the other I swat away faceless figures. The disoriented and futile fight leaves room for more shadows to creep into […]

One of the mysteries of my life is my brain. Why I crave a chocolate croissant and tea on hard days is beyond me but, I can’t argue with the comfort it brings my heart. I had it from a Parisian cafe almost everyday while Steve was in ICU. I hardly ate anything else during […]

My Daddy taught me to love gardening and I think of him every year around Valentine’s Day.  Why? A couple of reasons. One is that he always brought me the first Narcissus bloom around this time each year. As we reminisced about that, I told mom that I was sorry he didn’t bring them to […]

For as long as I can remember it’s been important for me to recognize and value the struggles of life.  To recognize that faith doesn’t mean ignoring pain and empty platitudes aren’t helpful when they make it seem like the “faithful” don’t suffer. To give voice to things that could make people feel different or […]

(This refers to a book my Dad loved called Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach) Sitting among giant cacti. Watching the sun set. The silence almost otherwordly. I hear some sort of bird flying by. It seems so out of place, as if it had lost its way in the world and ended up in […]

I don’t like to be wrong, but sometimes it’s worse to be right. I’m a worrier by nature. I routinely fear that the worst will happen so I’ve learned a tool that has helped me combat those worries over the years. I remind myself that our fears hardly ever happen. Being attacked by a shark, […]

Sun – Moon Spring – Winter Day – Night Joy – Pain It’s all life. It’s all yours. It’s all good. There’s not one without the other. No power in love without the possibility of losing it… Someday…Someway… Even when it’s too early and even when it doesn’t make sense and everything seems like insanity. […]

A new year can bring so many things.  Joy and pain. Loss and gain. Excitement and boredom.  It can also change us, our perspective, and our expectations.  It can make our hearts harder or softer.  Gracious or judgmental.  Hopeful or hopeless. It can even bring life or death. It’s surprising to me, that I don’t […]

It’s Christmas afternoon and I’m sitting on my bed wishing that my knee would allow me to go for a run. I’ve never been a fast runner, but that didn’t matter.  I ran alone. I processed. I thought. And, sometimes, I cried. Ever since I ran my first mile with daddy at the age of 6 it’s […]