Category
June 14, 2018
We recently returned from a celebratory 20th anniversary trip to Italy and France. While in Rome, we visited the Colosseum, the Forum and the Pantheon. We walked around piazzas and buildings that are hundreds and thousands of years old; we stepped down into wine cellars that were hand carved in 200BC and we climbed up cathedral towers to see sweeping views of the Tuscan hills. “I feel small,” I said to my husband. Here I am, just one little dot...
May 10, 2018
Every year we meet up with friends in Memphis and go to the Beale Street Music Festival (BSMF). Both the line-up and my capacity to stay awake past midnight get a little weaker with each subsequent trip. But we keep going because we value the time with our friends and quite frankly, Memphis owns a little slice of our souls and we feel compelled to annually pilgrimage back to our adopted second home. We eat too much and sleep too little,...
April 23, 2018
It’s college visit time. Shiny brochures, dozens of postcards, accolades in headlines…Best School, Best Value…Top 10…Number 1. One of these beautiful schools will be The Perfect One for Jack. The best education for the money in the best location. Surely it will become clear…although, after a few visits, we are more overwhelmed than we anticipated. The gorgeous campus has the highest price tag, but the highest ranked school is so big we are afraid he’d feel lost…finding the perfect one is going to...
April 2, 2018
Let’s talk about The Bag. The hand/purse/satchel/work/weekender/lunch/tote/gym bag. The wristlet/cross-body/shoulder/back-pack bag. I have leather and canvas; nylon and vinyl. I have bags with pockets and those without; bags with zippers and open top buckets. I have brown and navy; black, taupe and tan; pink and red. I have a bag for everyday and one for vacations. I have a bag for the beach and one for the mountains. I have a bag that holds the bags. What. Is. The. Deal?...
March 15, 2018
Ben sat on the floor in his closet with tears in his eyes. He had been scolded and sent to his room after being caught playing on his computer after he was told to stay off of screens for a while. Then when confronted about said usage, I received a decisive, “No. I wasn’t on my computer.” Lie. Busted. To the bedroom. I let him wallow for a few minutes before I went upstairs to find him in a puddle...
February 20, 2018
In the wake of yet another school shooting, emotions are running high on social media. It’s politics as usual on Twitter and new issues and hashtags are cropping up faster than we have time to resolve them. I’ve been spinning around my cycle of email, Facebook, Twitter, news sites and Instagram. I have been tagged in several posts which leaves my phone dinging with notifications at all hours. And my mind racing trying to decide if and how to respond. And all...
January 31, 2018
To the mom who texted (in the Cub Scouts group chat) last night: “I’m sorry, but I’ve given up. Cub Scouts is just one more thing to do. It’s too much for me to get to. Thanks for organizing, though. Appreciate it.” I got your message in rapid fire, group text/chat format…while I was busy…at work. Just finished in the OR. I rolled my eyes and muttered to myself, Really? Can’t do it? Lame. We are all busy. And I went about my...
December 29, 2017
It’s the awkward week between Christmas and New Year’s. The kids are home, my husband took the week off, family and friends have been in and out. Months ago, as my partner was making the call schedule, he asked each of us to list the days we wanted off. I put in my request to have this week free, knowing that several other partners would do the same, and that I probably would end up with at least one call....
December 1, 2017
I am so organized. You don’t even know…My shirts are arranged in my closet by color; each of my upcoming conferences/trips has its own manilla folder complete with checklists and a pocket for receipts; I keep duplicates of all my toiletries and make up at home and work so I am never at either place without something; I catalog my favorite recipes on Pinterest and spend sleepless nights on call choosing what to make for dinner the next night. I...
November 16, 2017
When the alarm went off this morning, I tapped the snooze button over and over for an hour. Finally, I made it downstairs for my morning ritual of coffee and devotions. By coincidence, or more likely God’s humor, my personal reading and the church’s automatic email, were both about joy. Soul soothing words, as recently, life has felt a little bitter, a little empty. Jarred by the sudden death of a dear friend’s husband and my welling anger of American...