And when you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you achieve it ~~Paulo Coelho from The Alchemist ***** It’s no secret to the people who live inside my bubble, that I’ve been unsettled all summer. That I’m antsy and tackling bones that won’t rest. On the days that I don’t travel for work,… Continue reading I Write Down Wishes So That They Come True
I first wrote the following post five (six?) years ago. Two years later, I was fortunate enough to publish it in Front Porch Journal. Since then, the words have sat quiet on my desktop, stored in dusty forgotten files; labeled under electronic icons, or on seed packets. I write every day, but I don’t as… Continue reading Still
Instructions for Living Life~ Pay attention Be astonished Tell about it –Mary Oliver ***** Note: I wrote a version of story that follows almost four years ago. If you read the original what you didn’t see was the fall-out. At the time, my deeply private (and barely teenage) son was mortified by his mom’s whimsical… Continue reading Life Lessons on the Deck of a Longboard
Each weekday, my son is up and out the door at 5:30 a.m. for Washburn Football work-outs. Even though he’s responsible for his alarm, the mama in me still sets a Kramer just in case. Dane didn’t need prompted to get out of bed this morning, but I did. I’d planned to run, water the… Continue reading If You’re Afraid of a Journey, Don’t Buy Shoes
Sorry I missed you last week. I’m working on some things. All the things. I have ideas. A mission. A plan. Two posts I’m writing. Gimme another week. Creating a thirty-two day mindfulness series. Gimme two three weeks. Side note: This morning, I was comparing my skills to others. Parenting, wife-ing, housekeeping, working. Comparison is… Continue reading Biscuits (Music While You Wait)
No borders, just horizons – only freedom. ~~Amelia Earhart – Kansas Native ******* Limestone Rolling plains Creek beds Hidden caves Prairie grass Sunsets Sunflowers I grew up on a farm in north-central Kansas. An expanse surrounded by fields of wheat, soybeans, cattle, and pigs. My dad was born in the kitchen of my childhood home,… Continue reading Beyond the Ruby Reds and Tornadoes–There’s No Place Like Kansas
Repost from 12/17/2013 – please read the footnote after the article to see what’s happening these days with our beloved Macy Grey. Hi! I’m Macy Grey and I run this joint. In case you didn’t know, my family often looks to me for advice. I’m smart and loyal and I love them with my whole heart. In dog… Continue reading Wag More Bark Less (A Repost and a Footnote)
“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest that we take between two deep breaths.” ~~Etty Hillesum ***** Monday, right? You have a big list rowing waves in your head. Groceries Graduations Taxes Work Kids We can approach this week one of two ways. With dread and trepidation and angst that… Continue reading Monday? You’ve got this. (Short Read!)
Note: Reposting a favorite from March of 2014. With a late arriving spring, landowners and farmers are burning fields and pastures to eliminate weeds and promote new life. Whether this is the first time you’ve read Prairie Burn, or you’re indulging me again, view it as a meditation and a call to look inward and… Continue reading Prairie Burn – Repost
It starts as a tickle. A whiff. A verdant flash in the upper left quadrant. An undulating breeze that smells like Oklahoma. One moment, a blanket of white covers the hard bed outside your window, and then overnight it’s dotted in green and yellow. Like a bear, this winter has made me sluggish. Science says… Continue reading Hibernation
We are not privy to the stories behind people’s actions, so we should be patient with others and suspend judgement of them, recognizing the limits of our understanding. – Epictetus I pitched to the editor of Topeka Magazine, a story about a prison greenhouse project. I’d written two other articles for him, so… Continue reading Where Flowers Grow in Concrete
