I discovered something today: endorphins. My kids and I started taking Taekwondo together, three times a week. It's hard, and I'm clumsy and slow and keep getting my low blocks and high blocks mixed up. Warm-ups consist of—among other things—twenty-five pushups (on our knuckles!) and between 75 and 125 crunches. Now you have to understand, … Continue reading Old dog, new tricks
Tell me about that football game, that band you’ve adored since high school, that autobiography—really?—that kept you up all night. Tell me how you negotiated a deal at the office. How you got a deal at the thrift store. Tell me how you stood your ground and got what you wanted. I want that for … Continue reading Mudita
I’m not known for being graceful. In fact, I have a reputation: I’m a klutz. If it’s on the floor, I will trip on it. If it has a corner, I will bump my hip or knee. If it has a sharp edge, I will cut myself. I wonder, sometimes: if you wrapped me in … Continue reading Bumps and scrapes
"In Portland," they told us when we moved here, "you don't garden. You beat things back with a stick." I have to say it's true. Year after year, we prune the lilacs. We trim the camellias, we cut back the roses. We wait, every spring, for the hyacinths to stop blooming so that we can … Continue reading May flowers
Today I bought a book I don't plan to read. I know, all you minimalists and declutterers out there are gasping in horror, but look--I'm a Taurus. I like my stuff. Even stuff that doesn't spark joy. The book in question is Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I must have read it twenty times … Continue reading Stuff and Things
