I am browning butter with one hand while writing a list of things I need to accomplish with the other. In four hours, twelve guests will arrive for a Christmas party. I still need to finish dessert, dice potatoes, do the dishes, set the table, walk the dog, and take a shower.   A knock on the door. I ignore it. Not on the schedule.   “Hey – you in there?”   I recognize my neighbor’s voice.   No, no, no. Not now. I don’t have a second to spare.   Before I can stop her, she’s i

Several years ago, my husband and I decided to fulfill our daughters’ long time wish of owning a dog. “They won’t take care of it,” my parents warned. “They’ll lose interest,” my friends predicted. I was having none of it. I had faith in my girls. They were older, responsible, and so very good with other people’s dogs.   After secretly scouring the internet and various shelters, I chose a friendly, mixed-breed female. On December 24th, I concocted a story about last-minute sh

My long-time yoga teacher began every class by saying How you do one thing is how you do everything. He was encouraging us to put our...

I’ve never been a fan of rock music, so when my neighbor invited me to a Boston concert, I politely declined.    “Oh, come on,” he...

When I was a college student, my school hosted the Special Olympics. Throughout the semester, I filed registrations, answered questions,...

Years ago, I found myself in a conundrum of my own making. Energized by self-righteousness, I added fuel to an already strained...

For 31 of the 32 years we’ve lived in our house, I’ve planted Marigolds simply because they require little to no attention. I drop them...

I recently attended a conference titled The Wisdom of Change . Before the speaker began, he set a jar containing several bees on his...

Every December, I evaluate the year that was and envision the new one to come. I consider a variety of resolutions and themes that will...

There is an almost magical quality about the table - the way it ignites the senses. The sound of voices and clinking silverware; the...

May we be grateful for sunshine and fair skies; for storms and dark spaces that lead us to prayer .   May we be grateful for untroubled...

I was nine-years-old when I discovered the power of a current. My grandfather and I were paddling a canoe down the Menominee River when...

I made multiple treks from the van to the rental house, unloading a week’s worth of supplies for our family vacation. As I precariously...

Carter vs. Reagan, 1980 – the first election I remember.  Our teacher gave us each an index card with the description of a citizen – age,...

It is an overcast June morning, and my friend and I are making our way down a trail we’ve travelled many times. Typically, we walk...

My first-grade daughter came home with a big announcement. Holding up the bag of green grapes I’d packed in her lunch, she declared,...

Kathryn and I met when I was 21 and she was 92. For several years in my early twenties, I volunteered in the activity department of a...

My college ethics professor started our senior year with an antique balance scale on his desk. He placed a single toothpick in one of the...

I am sitting in my neighbor’s kitchen. “It drives me crazy.” she says, “Why doesn’t he get rid of that broken-down shed? It’s just a pile...

A parent’s dreaded call in the night. One of my daughters, 700 miles away, needed my immediate help. The logistics began to swirl… Which...