It’s my birthday. As I write, I am wondering what wisdom I have to share after 35 revolutions 'round the sun. Probably something about motherhood or paying attention. Or how to listen, how to make peace with your body, how to spot a seed of faith in a field of doubt. Those are essays I’ll write someday,
Hungry for stories
The vent above the laundry room, located directly beneath my bedroom window, was the best spot in the house for reading.
The alchemy of delight
It's raining again. Gray drenches the sky and crimson leaves confetti slick sidewalks. I sit in my orange writing chair finishing an assignment when my preschooler pretzels his body over mine, presses his face in close and demands, "Dance with me! Dance with me!"
some signs of hope in 2020 (a list)
dogs, especially puppies, the friend who texted, “everything ok?” when you didn’t show up...
Joy at the water
"I just feel... trapped." I sigh this into my phone for what must be the 200th time in 2020. My therapist’s on the other line, likely sighing alongside me. She asks what’s trapping me. It isn't one thing, rather, it's everything...
How to survive a pandemic without losing it
The lightning bugs are gone. They’ve been replaced by the cicadas — blaring their calls of chicka-chicka, chicka-chicka, zaazz, zaazz. There are legions of cicadas, I suspect, hiding in the evergreens that overlook our backyard and in old oaks that line our neighborhood, aptly named Forest Glen. Some other writer might romanticize their singing, but … Continue reading How to survive a pandemic without losing it
Catching light
On nights when our son drifts asleep easily, I practice yoga in the livng room. I’d just rolled out my mat across the shadowed carpet one evening when a yellow burst drew my gaze. Flash-flash.
Momentum
Sunlight warmed her shoulders, and she felt something fluttering inside her, too. What was it, peace? Or maybe anticipation? She’d nearly forgotten the feeling.
Work, worth and paying attention in the time of coronavirus
Why can’t I focus? I write this in my pandemic journal, because I read journaling is a gift during this time and because “you’ll want to tell your grandkids about the 2020 pandemic” and because I already keep a journal. Focus? The situation at hand requires me to “work” from home with my preschooler underfoot. … Continue reading Work, worth and paying attention in the time of coronavirus
Something of value
“There’s no treasure here,” my son said, shaking his head while we strolled city sidewalks...
Erin Strybis 