Month: August 2021

She reached for a second tissue. “Sorry about all the tears,” she said. Some people pour their morning joe for a pick me up. I go for my Megan. Our always steady and ready office manager Megan isn’t ruffled by a crashed computer or an overflowing toilet. Still, on this morning, she dabbed the tiny silver ring in her nose as the drops kept falling.  It was Lily’s first day at a new school. Across town. Where she knew no one. A school where she would be different and feel alone.  While Megan knew all was well for her child, crying could not be avoided. Soon she let out a deep sigh.  This week social media fills with shining faces of innocence leaving us for places unknown.  Caretakers capture the moments to

Choosing to be alone for days is not an obvious extrovert choice. Yet for over a decade I’ve taken a solo annual retreat. I don’t go far, but I do go away from home where I am tempted by the dazzling distractions of unorganized drawers and the unfinished anything. My yearly ritual is usually in winter, the season of slowing down, anticipating the new year, and hoping the arrival of spring can be trusted. As usual, I marked my calendar for January. But the universe had its own plans. I postponed until summer. This time away is to look back,