Light

December 11, 2008

Watching the moon at midnight, solitary, mid-sky, I knew myself completely, no part left out. -Izumi Shikubu I just came back inside – my cheeks are still cold – from my new favorite spot for ending a day. Last night and tonight, I’ve perched myself on two chairs – sitting in one, my feet propped […]

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My fireflies

December 9, 2008

This afternoon started out like most school days. Usually after school, the kids spread out through the house to decompress and relax. Then later, as the afternoon slides toward evening, I collect the sprawl of them and try to shape the next hour into finished homework and dinner on the table. But today, as afternoon […]

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Lost

December 7, 2008

I do this thing if I realize that I’m lost when I’m driving: I speed up. And the more frustrated and uncertain I become, the faster I drive. Headed toward somewhere I don’t mean to go, I become hell-bent on getting there as fast as I can. I have a good sense of direction, which […]

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Butting heads, or…?

December 4, 2008

After the Girl cried and wailed and possibly gnashed teeth over her homework tonight (all of which left her mother completely unimpressed and very frustrated)… Girl sat on my lap, facing me, sniffling, as I rubbed her back and took a few deep breaths. I could have sniffled, too, but it wouldn’t have helped things. […]

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Every single year

December 2, 2008

Yes, every year. It’s not like they keep moving Christmas around so I never know when it’s coming (Surprise! We picked March 11 this year!). And it’s not like stores haven’t been blaring stylized versions of Jingle Bells for a good month. Weeks ago, I bought pretty cards to send out. I’ve been giving the […]

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Fire

November 14, 2008

Their hair smells of woodsmoke, their fingers sticky with marshmallow. Firelight dances and flickers on their faces as she makes up a song about roasting marshmallows and he strategically adds a few of them to the top of a log so we can watch them swell to the size of baseballs and flame high and […]

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Wish

November 12, 2008

My kids stared at the screen. They picked up their sandwiches and forgot to take a bite. They took a bite and forgot to chew. Worried looks froze on their faces. Their aunt sat between them on the sofa, and offered a hand to cover their eyes through the scary parts (they peeked through her […]

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Wish

November 12, 2008

My kids stared at the screen. They picked up their sandwiches and forgot to take a bite. They took a bite and forgot to chew. Worried looks froze on their faces. Their aunt sat between them on the sofa, and offered a hand to cover their eyes through the scary parts (they peeked through her […]

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Fragile

November 8, 2008

If you’re a writer, you probably know how this feels. Your hands hover just above the keyboard, and a string of words slides into your head like a runner into second. And it’s good, pretty damn good. You start to type it or write it, but before you can… …the phone rings, or a child […]

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Sea glass

October 29, 2008

Ah, yes. I remember this feeling. I finished reading the book I was on, and now I’m left with that delicious, satisfied melancholy that hangs around after an author has pulled me along by the hand through the storm of a great story. This year, my reading list has been a bit more spare than […]

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