Mar 9, 2023Member-onlyTangled Travel: IcelandSnow Driving with Daughter — There’s a lovely bakery on a main street in Reykjavik, Iceland called Sandlot. Flaky pastries and rich cakes are arranged in clean lines on a gleamy countertop. Transparent bottles hold still water on a stand, off to the side. There might have been a fireplace. Or maybe it was just…Iceland10 min readIceland10 min read
Mar 9, 2023Member-onlySleety GleeFinding Joy in February — February can be a bit bleak. Especially in a year like this one, post pandemic but somehow still in it. We’re all older so when we see each other, the aging that’s mirrored back can be devastating. There are so many forms of brutality in our systems and in our…Joy10 min readJoy10 min read
Jan 31, 2023Member-onlyThe Core Isn’t Spinning Any MoreA Step by Step Guide for Launching Your Child Into the World — The earth has done something dramatic. The massive core of molten metal at its center has just kind of slowed. The scientists say that it is almost still. It might reverse directions. They assure that, “nothing cataclysmic is happening.” The earth just isn’t spinning anymore. It does this from time…Parenting5 min readParenting5 min read
Jan 20, 2023Member-onlyConsidering BrenéA Case for White Vulnerability — I’ve been a little worried about Brené Brown. I listen to her podcast as I run. It feels close and comfortable, like she knows me and I know her. We’re just two white women out for a run, trying to do our best, trying to make the world a little…Black Women8 min readBlack Women8 min read
Jan 9, 2023Member-onlyHow to Be a Poetry PersonEven If You Are Desperately Far From It — Dear Poets, I made a New Year’s resolution to read a poem a day after listening to this podcast: The Ezra Klein Show: Best Of: How America's Poet Laureate Sees Our World on Apple Podcasts "One of the biggest things about poetry is that it holds all of humanity," the poet Ada Limón tells me. "It holds the…podcasts.apple.com Ezra Klein asks lovely little questions which Ada Limón answers. The conversation will make you feel capable and worthy of poetry.Poetry2 min readPoetry2 min read
Jan 6, 2023Member-onlyThe Man at the UPS StoreThe kindest human in the world works at the UPS store where I return my Amazon items. Now, returning Amazon items is complicated. I shouldn’t buy them to begin with. I should visit other stores with smaller footprints and more considerate owners. But it helps me move through my life…Amazon2 min readAmazon2 min read
Jan 5, 2023Member-onlyA Deer on the RoadEvaluating Brain Fog through Menopause and 2023 — This morning as I was running, I saw a dead deer on the road. I shortened my dog’s leash and started my arc around, as I do. But look at it! As I move through menopause and worry about my brain fogging up, as I worry that my synapses are…Menopause2 min readMenopause2 min read
Jan 4, 2023Member-onlyFox Drawer PullsThe Agony and Ecstasy of a Narrative — I was in a thrift store yesterday morning and found an adorable little dresser. The pulls for the top drawer were shaped like little sleeping foxes. The dresser was hand carved solid wood. I stayed there with that dresser for a long time, thinking about the sweet foxes and wondering…Narrative Nonfiction3 min readNarrative Nonfiction3 min read
Jan 3, 2023Member-onlyMama Octopuses Film AwayConsidering Menopause and the Dissolution of Myself — There was a time in my life when I felt vibrantly present, close to the center of everything. I was fierce and young. I hadn’t yet marked up the earth with my progeny and my worries. I flitted about, somewhat unconcerned about the end of my lifetime. …Menopause2 min readMenopause2 min read
Jan 2, 2023Member-onlyLiving So Full I Can Barely Stand ItOn Moderate Abundance and a Calculated New Year — Two days before Christmas, our refrigerator is stocked and ready to go. We lose power. I don’t worry for a second. Everything is going to be fine. The power is going to come back before I need to lay out the presents in the way that I do, so that…New Year4 min readNew Year4 min read