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mindful monday.

(For some reason, this didn't post yesterday as planned. Let us pretend it is still Monday for a moment): I am shedding. I think this is important. It is likely a project with great implication for many parts of my life–not only the shedding that is taking place in my …

I am intolerant of your intolerance.

(I got many requests to repost this essay as a stand alone piece for easy linking. I'm happy to do so here.) It hurts me, deeply, to know that my lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex friends face this kind of reality daily. Just as racism and sexism hurt. Every …

thinking thursday.

(She is the reason I'm going to be staying home more) Evidently this is the Cranky Patti edition of Thinking Thursday. [mind]   We have a new poet laureate! (this is not the cranky bit) Here is Today's Must Read, "How to get grateful": "Miracles have happened every year since …

poetry wednesday : among your duties, pleasure is a thing that also needs accomplishing

The Word. Down near the bottom of the crossed-out list of things you have to do today, between “green thread” and “broccoli” you find that you have penciled “sunlight.” Resting on the page, the word is as beautiful, it touches you as if you had a friend and sunlight were …

girls need to write.

(Photo by Jeremy Madea) Today is my birthday. I'm 52 years old. Do you know why that is fantastic? Because it means I am still alive! YES! LIFE FTW!  I didn't start writing until I was 46 years old, not really. And I wonder how my life would have been …

my birthday gift to you.

I love you for reading the words that I string into sentences. And for responding and talking with me and teaching me. And for trusting me with your stories. And for laughing with me. And for turning my books so they face out on the shelves of bookstores. And for …

perry

Our new dog, Perry. He was a stray, taken in by animal control, and saved from certain death from the Richmond Animal League (RAL). Tess and I saw his photo online and said "THIS IS THE ONE." Then he got deathly ill before we could adopt him. Here's the rest …

thinking thursday.

photo by Jeremy Madea, used in this adorable frame by Colleen Wainwright.   [mind]   I love what Colleen Wainwright is doing, raising $50,000 for a group that helps girls through writing for her 50th birthday. And I loved her interview with me in support of her goal. Can you …

the narrow space between interference and intervention.

  We have all watched the dissolution of people. Some in our families or among our friends, wondering whether or when to step in, navigating the tiny space between interference and intervention. And some in the world of celebrities, watching them wax and wane inside People magazine, participating in their …

real women play the tuba

I think you know how much I love my daughters. And how much I love the fact that Emma is fully committed to playing an instrument twice her size. She has asked me over the years to ask readers to support her efforts to raise money for abused horses or …