When I was nine years old, the bottom fell out of our family’s world with one, horrific phone call. The call that changed everything---it came on a December day, just before Christmas. I remember very little about the date---the common, everyday moments leading up to the call. But I will forever have imprinted in my memory the picture of my mother crumpled over, hands intertwined in a dangling phone cord, her body folded in anguish, as she sank to the floor. I have written about this ... continue reading...
Fighting the dark
Fighting the dark. Filling the empty spaces. Finding light. First, fighting the dark. I felt a cloud of darkness pushing in around me. Felt it for days. Heavy, ominous: it started with the light-hearted feeling of having done something helpful and hopeful, but left me feeling pinched for air, as if being suddenly choked by a poisonous gas, empty of all but myself and the darkest of thoughts. Fighting the dark can be a daily struggle. It requires emotional power, physical power, ... continue reading...
On Being Helpers…
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world."---Fred Rogers This original quote by Fred Rogers in the 80s was intended to be used by parents as a means of comforting children in times of ... continue reading...
Connection
I look out the double windows this evening at sundown, while wiping down the kitchen counters from a late supper. Noticing Husband out by the road, talking to an unrecognizable couple and their dog, I am drawn to the over-sized glass on our entryway door. Pausing for a moment, I take stock. Who is this? Why the conversation? Ordinarily, this would draw little attention from anyone in our house, but on this night, a night beginning three weeks of social distancing, it catches my attention. ... continue reading...
Life is changing…and we will get by
Over the past few months, a number of challenges have arisen in both my and my family’s lives. Sickness, stress, extenuating challenges, new opportunities with monumental struggles attached, time constraints, over-commitments, financial concerns, extra coursework...you name it, Just, life, man. A few weeks ago, in anticipation of March Break coming, I said to Husband that I was really looking forward to this year’s break: in particular, looking forward to the chance to get away and enjoy ... continue reading...
Storm Muffins and Parenting Connections
For quite some time, I have bemoaned the growing separation of our older children on the Second Level of the House, from the Parents, located on the First. Many tricks have been tried. I have begged and cajoled and lectured and flat-out scolded, with the sole intent of wanting them ‘down here’ to hang out with us (me). I have mentioned the red stool that sits in the corner, and how I love it when they sit and chat with me while I am working in the kitchen. I have complimented the beautiful ... continue reading...
Teaching From the Heart
Walking down the hallway, I turn quickly into the school office, with the plan to retrieve a document that moments earlier I had sent to the photocopier from my computer. As I make the sharp turn to the right, scooting in around the corner, I become witness to a small huddle formed around a very little child. A very little child who happens to be robustly crying. Actually, robustly wailing, might be a better descriptor. I pause to observe and assess the situation, quickly realizing that ... continue reading...
The Most Important Thing About Beginnings…
There are those who will say "never look back". Who will say that one should either "live in the moment" and "be present" or should "set one's sights on things to come". I, however, am of the firm belief that the past is a doorway through which we must walk into the present and then beyond. And so. I cannot help but let my mind drift back in time: sometimes to the near past... sometimes to the distant past. But always back, always to the past, to times gone by. Even as I presently seek to ... continue reading...
In the beginning…
One of my first memories is of a bedroom I shared with my sister, next in line. There are five of us in the 'siblinghood' now, but at the time, there was only Kris and I. This bedroom, located in a small, sloped-roof home in Westfield, Maine, is forever fixed in my memory as one spanning the back end of our parsonage, with my parents' bedroom occupying the front. Our little bedroom---the nursery--- had a double window that overlooked the backyard, from which, I believe, my swing-set could ... continue reading...
Roots
The old elm went deep, stretching twisted sinews ever downward, down through loamy, dark soil. Ever further, always searching. Seeking until finding that which was desired. Penetrating layer upon layer of sandy, coarse matter until the wooden talons finally obtained their probable rest. Reaching over and out toward the far reaches of the property line, leaching rich nutrients and minerals, day by day. The steady branches and broad trunk a monument to the unaccounted-for years it stood, and ... continue reading...
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