Finding joy in the darkness
My phone's weather app calmly advises, “Cloudy conditions will continue for the rest of the day.” And from the forecast, it appears, the rest of the week as well. Outside my back door, bare branches [...]
Beef stew as self-care: winter blues help for empty nesters
This is the first in an occasional series on empty nesting, or as my friend Tim likes to call it, spacious nesting. Outside, the soft pewter sky of winter afternoon spits down a thin, bitter [...]
Welcoming strangers–not what I expected
“Hospitality means inviting the stranger into our private space, whether that be the space of our own home or the space of our personal awareness and concern. And when we do so, some important transformations [...]
Broken bread, burning hearts
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. [...]
Doing things that are hard
At about 3 a.m., I am running in a warm, foggy rain down a wooded path, somewhere just south of Racine, Wisconsin. My glasses are constantly fogging up (why did I think taking out my [...]
The mothering God gives
Mother's Day can be rough. If you're childless but not by choice, if you recently lost your mom, if you have ever lost a child, Mother's Day can simply hurt. If you're in a mothering [...]
Trading “I could never…” for “I just did!”
What keeps you from living the life you want to live? Last winter in Chicago, we experienced a deep freeze where the temperature never went above freezing for more than a month, and walking outside [...]
The empty table (and some thoughts on filling it)
As a treat to myself on a fall afternoon, I pull out my trusty Le Creuset dutch oven. At 3 in the afternoon, I chop onions, garlic, rosemary, and parsnips; brown beef ribs marbled with [...]
Empty nest? Not so great.
So I have been an “empty nester” for exactly one week. So far, it totally sucks. I do not like it one bit. I am irritable and difficult--I admit this. Something feels off balance, and [...]