Shhhhhhhh. Don’t tell him what day it is. Coast is clear this year through Easter. But last year this time, stuck in lock down and learn-at-home, shut in and shut down in so many ways, here was our ticket out… “Mom.” (exasperated SIGH) “April Fools is April Fools. I can’t help there’s a worldwide epidemic.” Continue reading

This time last year…. Our first week of quarantine… Never has the popular term “reaching out” made more sense to me. As a former English teacher and self-appointed grammarian, I notice such things as language and usage. Dorky, but I do. For example, it’s been hard for me to swallow the rampant use of “due Continue reading

March 23, 2020 (a look back at the first week of lockdown…) William does not bore easily. Six months ago, I would have been sad to look out the kitchen window and see boy playing by himself. I would have thought there was something wrong with him–or with us–that he didn’t have a playmate. Now Continue reading

This is the week the world shut down…the last “normal” days, just on the cusp of spring. Like they are now. Today is Day 365 by my count. Here is a flashback to “Week One”… March 16, 2020 If only the Corona Virus would move through town as quickly as the mood swings at our Continue reading

From a liturgy of those setting off on a pilgrimage: “Be for them, Lord, a defense against emergency, a harbor in shipwreck, a refuge in the journey, shade in the height, light in the darkness, a staff of the slippery slope, joy amidst suffering, consolation in sadness, safety in adversity, caution in prosperity, so that Continue reading

Words in a text I receive from Ellie… as the caption to a photo of a lopsided little snowman built on a patio table in a quad at her school. Clearly making the most of the snowy weather this month that makes its way to college campuses as well–suspending things, pulling them from indoor, online Continue reading

Peregrination [perəɡrəˈnāSH(ə)n] NOUN: a journey, especially a long or meandering one. Synonyms: travels · wanderings · journey · expedition · exploration ·excursion · perambulation · trek · trip · odyssey  Day One (almost): I’m doing it. I’ve always wanted to hike the Camino de Santiago. I had hoped Sophie would pick it for her senior trip, after all her years of Spanish and love of hiking. An 800-kilometer trek through Continue reading

Snow and iced in for a couple of days, I am finishing old posts. Here’s one from the week before Christmas. The way I know Sophie has a new job at Insta-cart is one afternoon she comes down the stairs wearing an ID badge and announces she is going to work. I am insta-surpised and Continue reading

A year ago today, a dear friend died. RED are her initials. We are remembering her in grief and thanksgiving, sadness and joy, hope and prayer. This poem is my offering. Once, in the corner of your eyes I caught a glimpse of all you knew, of all that you were living: Your living and Continue reading

Sure, I ski. In my dreams, anyway, and on accident reports. Which is good, because in the same week she goes back to school, Sophie lays down a ski trip she’s been toying with a while. It is not the first time I’ve heard the crazy plan, but it is the firmest. Skiing??! In Virginia? Continue reading