Where every day is Now
37 days goes by quickly. So does a life. After a young woman named Meta died this past fall, and in the slightly homebound recuperation following my fall in November, I created a 37days calendar for 2007 to raise money for a scholarship fund in Meta’s memory. The third and …
With gratitude for the ampersand
"I am a part of all that I have met." – Tennyson The end of a year brings closure of many kinds. Some involve owning what didn’t get done that year; others involve thankfulness, still others center on the celebration of things accomplished, friendships deepened, things and people let go …
Claim your A
“More grows in the garden than the gardener knows he has sown.” –Spanish Proverb Three stories circling one theme: The first story When my older daughter Emma was 5 years old, she admired the bracelet of a family friend—“I love that bracelet!” Emma told the woman excitedly one afternoon. “That’s …
Break stride
"We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are." -Anais Nin Coming home from Chicago two weeks ago, I was struck irretrievably ill in the cab on the way to the airport, that kind of I’ve- eaten- an- alien- food- poisoning- I’m- unable- to- stop- shaking …
Hand one another along
“Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee, and do not try to make the universe a blind alley.” Ralph Waldo Emerson If you read last week’s 37days, you’ll know that my older daughter is at summer camp for almost 6 weeks. And if last summer …
Stand on your own rock
“The map is not the territory.” – Alfred Korzbyski This week we took our older daughter to summer camp where she will spend the next five and a half weeks rollicking in the woods, riding horses, swimming, hiking and climbing, making friendship bracelets, kayaking, and not writing home. She …
Find your saxophone
"Follow your bliss. Find where it is and don’t be afraid to follow it." –Joseph Campbell If you’ve read 37 days before, you might have picked up on my love affair with actor Johnny Depp. Beautiful, talented Johnny. Quixotic, funny, odd, quirky Johnny. Did I mention beautiful? Ooh-la-la. What can …
Stop at every lemonade stand
“When I give, I give myself.” –Walt Whitman Quiet bouquets Leaving West End Bakery on Friday, having eaten quite possibly the best strawberry scone ever baked in the history of the universe with real, big slices of sweet strawberry tucked throughout it and I want another one right now, I …
Celebrate every orange flag
“The truth is that everything that can be accomplished by showing a person when he’s wrong, ten times as much can be accomplished by showing him where he is right. The reason we don’t do it so often is that it’s more fun to throw a rock through a window …
Love unlovable people
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” -Albert Schweitzer It’s easy to love people when they’re lovable. It’s harder when they’re not. In high school, I learned intricate details of the battles of the Civil War. I knew the …
